Reader Reviews for Chapter 23/Recent Reviews
Kakashifangirlnumber1000: Thank you very much! :) Yes. I'm sure we'd all love to see Orochimaru dead. Poor Kakashi…
MemoriesOfNobody: Thank you! Oh, I know. It's definitely the pits. But I have a new one, so I'm all taken care of!
Prescripto13: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D
KakashiKrazed: Goodness, I hope you can forgive me for being so late… Thank you! I'm glad Gai's little portion was enjoyable! I always feel like I don't do him justice. Oh, I know! Silly Kakashi! Of course they care about you! Thank you very much! I always love hearing from you! :D Hope you like this chapter as well!
YoIhsakak: Oh my gosh, wow… Thank you SO much! That means so much to me! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! That you're as excited for this as you are excited for the manga is a true honor! I really hope you enjoy this one as much as you have all the others!
Sora Tayuya: Thank you for your forgiveness! Ooh, I do hope that never happens to you… It's not fun! Thank you! Glad you liked it! Yeah, Kakashi's in a real pickle here… Hopefully they can get him out in time! *laughs evilly as she reads the end of this chapter* Oh, thank you! I'm glad you pointed that out! I'll make sure to watch out more for misspellings! Thank you for reviewing my many stories; it means a lot to me!
Luinon: Ich, I know… It's the devil, definitely… Whoa, I make him cooler? That's definitely an honor! Thanks! :) Hahaha, I'm glad you have a crush on Raven. That's good news for me; means he's realistic as an anime character.
Arrowachi: Wow, thank you so much! It makes me very happy to hear that this is your favorite "Kakashi gets a curse mark" story! I hope you'll continue reading, and that I live up to your expectations!
chirikyubi: A-heh-heh… Yeah… 'Bout that… SO very sorry for this chapter being two months late… O.o I've been really preoccupied lately. Hope you'll still read and enjoy!
Fallen Angel Kakashi: Thanks! Glad you're excited! Yeah, Potentia is pretty powerful stuff. I guess we'll just have to see how it all works out! *grins*
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Kakashi's fuzzy gaze hardened when Orochimaru's dark silhouette materialized into view. He hadn't heard the gate to his cell open, and that worried him. His mind was truly leaving him if he couldn't pick up a sound so obvious.
Orochimaru chuckled, though it sounded far too soft to the ninja sitting on the ground, "I was going to ask what the trouble was, Kakashi, but now that I see that arm of yours the question seems pointless," He laughed casually, like the man he was speaking to wasn't probably dying from blood loss.
The Copy Ninja wanted SO much to respond to the Sannin's remark in his usual way, but any witty challenge died in his mouth, "Go to hell…" He managed in a raspy voice.
Orochimaru's lips twitched up into a gleaming smirk that even Kakashi could see with his failing vision, "Really, my boy, I'm a bit disappointed that you couldn't come up with a more original retort than that."
Kakashi glared at the rogue Sannin hatefully, which was a bad decision because it impaired his eyesight even more. He groaned, frustrated that his body was being so noncompliant, and put his good hand up to his head again.
Orochimaru clicked his tongue like he was pitying a boy who cut his knee up on a rock. That infuriated Kakashi.
"I will admit that the process of gaining the Potentia can be quite painful at times," Orochimaru said, eyes glinting, "But it's going to be over much quicker for you."
Kakashi's right eye blinked back open as he stared at the man in confusion. Automatically his mind took the words 'over' and 'quicker' and assumed that Orochimaru was really trying to kill him off. However, he quickly dismissed that thought because he was far too valuable to the snake bastard. He had to mean that the 'transformation' process'- so to speak -would be faster than it was for the other three.
"The Hell curse mark, my boy," Orochimaru went on to explain, seeing the look in Kakashi's eyes, "It's aiding the Potentia transference."
"What?" His mouth became dry. Truthfully, he had thought the curse mark may have had something to do with this whole Potentia business. But the idea still left a tingly sensation in the back of his throat.
"I made it just for you, you know," He smiled widely, and the almost affectionate tone he used made Kakashi shudder, "There is no other mark like it in the world."
"… I suppose… I should be honored?" Kakashi laid on the sarcasm as heavily as he could, even though he could feel himself slipping farther and farther into the dark.
Orochimaru's grin widened, "I suppose you should be," It angered Kakashi that the Sannin was being more witty than him at the moment.
However, wittiness was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he felt his eyes try and force themselves shut. The Copy Ninja struggled as hard as he could to resist, being as the idea of being unconscious in a room with Orochimaru was one of the most unpleasant things he could think of. Unfortunately, his injuries were a little too severe for much resistance. The rogue Sannin must've been able to see that. After all, this whole ordeal was his doing.
Orochimaru laughed, "It's quite frustrating, isn't it? When your body won't listen to what your mind is trying to tell it," His eyes glinted with a light that was scary even to a man that could hardly see, "I do admire your determination, Kakashi, but enough is enough… Wouldn't you agree?"
Kakashi's stomach knotted painfully. As if responding to the man's words, his body began to shut down. The Jounin couldn't even form an audible response to what was said. He took in deep breaths to try and steady his ever-increasing heart beat, though they didn't do much good.
Suddenly, his arm was bleeding too much, his head was throbbing too hard, and each breath seemed to be insufficient.
The last thing Kakashi remembered before his head met the floor was the insane smirk of his captor; the man he currently hated the most out of anyone in the world.
The man who was slowly breaking him.
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"… How are they doing, Lady Hokage?" A concerned Iruka said, standing in the Hokage's office and waiting apprehensively for her answer.
Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. She knew the Chuunin was just worried, but this was a difficult question that gave her much frustration, "Not as well as they could be doing," Was the only short answer she could come up with.
"Really?" Iruka's brow lifted with worry.
"… I was going to send them on a mission earlier today, but I figured that pairing them up with another Jounin was… Not a good idea."
Iruka looked down at his feet and rubbed his fingers together nervously, "Yes, that doesn't sound like it would work out well. At least, not in their current mindset..."
Tsunade sighed in defeat, "Well, I'm not quite sure what to do with them. I can't just sit here and pretend that everything's alright."
Iruka chewed on his lower lip. Though it had only been a day since Kakashi got taken by Orochimaru, Squad Seven was already noticeably different. The situation had already hit them hard, and they hadn't been their normal selves since it had happened.
"Being there when it happened must have really taken its toll on them…" Iruka thought ruefully, "That's a horrible thing to go through."
"… I don't suppose you've heard anything back from the ANBU teams yet…?" The Chuunin asked hopefully.
Tsunade shook her head. She seemed to look much more her age suddenly, "No, unfortunately."
"Oh," There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Tsunade looked up.
"You… Can go now, Iruka," She said softly.
"O-Oh, yes. Of course," He bowed his head, "Sorry for disturbing you Lady Hokage."
"It's no problem," She shook her head.
"Goodbye," Iruka said politely, and stepped out the door.
As it clicked behind him, Iruka sighed. Squad Seven was really hurting right now. He wished there was some way he could help them. An image of Naruto passed shortly through his head, and his brow furrowed in thought.
"Naruto… You probably feel so guilty about what happened to Kakashi…"
Iruka walked out of the Hokage's tower- albeit slower than usual -and started for the only spot he thought Naruto would be right now. He couldn't fix much of anything at this point, but he could at least try and offer his old student some company.
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Tsunade put her face in her hands after Iruka left, letting out a long sigh. All of this was making her sick to her stomach. It infuriated her to no end that Kakashi was now in Orochimaru's hands, and even more so that she couldn't do anything about it. The only thing she could do was just pray that the ANBU teams were successful.
"Knock, knock," A playful voice came from her right. She turned to see Jiraiya squatted on one of her window panes, giving her a friendly smirk.
"Where have you been?" She asked with not much energy.
Jiraiya hopped into her office, "Oh, you know. Wandering around the countryside, trying to dig up more information about the Akatsuki and what not."
"And?"
He grunted, "Not so successful so far," He rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "I've been, uh, a little preoccupied lately."
"Peeping?" Tsunade said accusingly, narrowing her eyes and raising an eyebrow. She swiveled around all the way in her chair to face him.
Jiraiya put his hands up, "Hey, take it easy! First of all, it's not peeping, it's research. Second of all, that's not what I've been preoccupied with, believe it or not."
"Oh?" Tsunade did seem legitimately surprised.
"Yeah. Actually, I've been trying to find out the whereabouts of Orochimaru," His tone went sour.
"Oh," All the energy Tsunade had seemed to suddenly drain out of her system, "So what made you come back?"
"… I heard about Kakashi," Jiraiya's gaze narrowed, "I came back as soon as I heard."
Tsunade looked away from him in shame, clenching her fists on her lap. He crossed his arms and shook his head, "However, I'm afraid I couldn't figure out much else other than that. It's a good thing, I suppose. It would be bad news for the Leaf Village if word of the incident spread around too much. You've kept a good job keeping the details hidden."
Tsunade closed her eyes momentarily as age began to creep up into her face again, "Well, I suppose that's somewhat a relief. It would be bad for details of Kakashi's kidnapping to be disclosed to the public."
"So, what are the details?" Jiraiya asked, "Not to pry, but I'd like to know, myself. This news bothered me quite a bit when I heard about it."
"Of course; you have every right to know," Tsunade leaned an elbow on her desk, "I'm just going to warn you right now, though," She looked up at him with a hard gaze, "It's worse than you probably think."
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Iruka made his way up to the Hokage Faces, not being surprised that he was the only one who was going up. He walked up to the very top, and searched around for a blob of yellow and orange on the brown stone. Naturally, it wasn't that hard to find.
Naruto sat crossed legged on the middle of what would be the Third Hokage's head, gazing out onto the village with an unusually somber face. Iruka walked up behind him.
"Looks like I was right about you being up here," The Academy teacher said in a light tone.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said in a surprised tone as he craned his neck to look at his visitor, "You knew I was up here?"
"Well sure," Iruka sat down by his former student, curling up his knees and resting his arms on them, "You always come here when something's bugging you."
"Oh," Naruto said, turning his gaze back to village. He chuckled, "Wow; didn't know I was so predictable
"Ah, I don't know about that," Iruka smiled, looking out to the village too, "Most of the time you're quite unpredictable."
Naruto laughed in return, though Iruka couldn't help but notice it had a little less mirth than usual, "I guess you just know me too well, sensei."
Iruka's smile widened a little, "I guess I do," There was a silence between the two of them before Iruka let seriousness settle on his face, "… Are you worried about Kakashi?"
Naruto's expression sobered immediately, and he curled up his legs and folded his arms across them. He rested his head on his arms, "… How can I not be worried?"
Iruka smiled at the boy in sympathy, "I completely understand Naruto. It's natural to worry about people that you care about; especially if they happen to be in a dangerous situation."
"Dangerous situation…" Naruto muttered, his brow furrowing, "He's being held hostage by Orochimaru! That's more than a dangerous situation; he could… He could die," He gripped his sleeves tightly.
Iruka frowned. Obviously Naruto had already taken into account the seriousness of the situation. It was good in a way; the teacher was glad that he had become less ignorant and more realistic in his training and missions, but… All of this worrying had to be hurting him. It was like he had lost all hope.
Iruka sighed, "I know… The stakes are quite high here," Iruka decided to leave out the Curse Mark. If Naruto didn't already know about it, he didn't want to be the one to tell him, "Kakashi's life is in jeopardy. That in and of itself is news to worry over. But…" He looked out over the village with a smile on his face, "I'm not worried."
Naruto looked at Iruka like he was insane, "How can you not be worried?!" His voice started to rise, and his head shot up, "You're just fine with Kakashi-sensei dying??"
"That's not it," Iruka shook his head, and his smile still lingered, "I just believe in Kakashi, that's all."
"Huh?" Naruto looked surprised, like something just hit him in the face.
"I believe in Kakashi," Iruka stated again, "I know him well enough to know that he's a strong shinobi. In fact, he's one of the strongest ninja I've ever had the privilege of knowing. He's my ally, my comrade, my friend. And if anyone were to go up against Orochimaru and win, it would be him," His smile widened as he looked back at Naruto, "That's why I'm not worried about him."
Naruto blinked a few times before a smile came over his face. It was a sad smile, "Wow… You're right, sensei… I'm a pretty big idiot, huh? Here I am thinking the worst, and you're not scared at all. You have complete faith in him."
Iruka shrugged, and a thoughtful look came across his face, "I suppose I am a little worried…" He couldn't lie, he was, "But I think Kakashi will pull through."
Naruto's smile grew into one that wasn't so sad, "Yeah. I think so too. He's pretty awesome, after all."
"… You know, he saved my life once."
"Really??" Naruto once again had a surprised look come across his face.
"Yup," Iruka nodded, "I was pretty lucky," He looked over the village again, "The funny part is, I didn't even really know him at the time."
"What do you mean?"
"We were on a mission. It was one of my first big ones as a Chuunin. I was assigned to a group with two other ninja my rank, and three ANBU Black Ops members."
"ANBU?" Naruto looked confused, "I've never heard of Chuunin going on a mission with ANBU members."
"Actually, the Black Ops wasn't too fond of the idea at first," Iruka chuckled, "But the Third Hokage insisted that we go along on the mission. It was kind of a way for us to get out and see the real world."
"Was it a tough one?"
"Oh yeah. It was horrifying. We Chuunin had never seen so much death and violence in our lives."
Naruto gulped, "Wow. Sounds pretty intense," He looked thoughtful when this happened, "How long ago was this?"
"About six years ago now, I guess."
"Wow… So… How did Kakashi-sensei save you?"
"Well, our mission was to infiltrate the base of a resident crime lord who Konoha had been keeping an eye on for a while and, well… Get rid of him. We had successfully surrounded the building when we were ambushed by a whole gang of hired shinobi."
"Here they come!"
"Damn! They anticipated us!"
"Get the recruits into position!"
"Whoa," Naruto looked impressed, "I never knew you went on missions that intense, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Hey, what are you trying to say?"
"Tell me more!" Naruto was engrossed in the story.
"Anyway…" Iruka continued, "The ANBU immediately got down to business and took out a good majority of the shinobi. However, these shinobi were very well trained. We had anticipated ahead of time that the boss would have hired help, and that they would be strong. But anticipating something doesn't make you ready for it. And we Chuunin definitely demonstrated that.
There must have been at least one hundred men there," Iruka shook his head as if dismissing the horrible memory, "It was like a slaughter. Men just went down one after the other, and we could hardly keep up with the speed and precision of the ANBU members. There were a few instances where all of us wondered if we would be going home alive. I suppose it was just sheer luck that we all ended up living."
Naruto blinked again, "Jeez, it was that bad?"
"Mm-hmm," Iruka nodded, "We were terrified. But we had to keep fighting, or else we would all be killed ourselves. Anyway, I had sustained a deep cut on my shoulder midway through the fight, and it was bleeding really heavily. But, like I said, I couldn't stop fighting because the shinobi wouldn't stop coming. I would just leave myself open if I stopped to try and tend to myself.
"Damn it…" Iruka cursed mentally as he struck down another shinobi. His breathing was labored and he had to blink a few times to get his eyes to see straight, "This is getting to be too much… My shoulder won't stop bleeding, and all of these new cuts…"
He had been separated from the other Chuunin a while ago, deciding to try and distract the enemy so that the others could continue on. He didn't figure the ANBU would even think of backing him up. After all, this is the way ANBU worked, right? Anything can be sacrificed for the mission.
It had worked for a little while, but…
Iruka had noticed that since his shoulder was hurt, he had become slower. More blows and weapons from the enemy shinobi were making contact with his body, and he feared he wouldn't last much longer if it kept up.
His senses barely picked up a flurry of shuriken and kunai headed in his direction. He gripped his own kunai tighter and managed to knock a few of the weapons away, though a majority hit the target.
He grunted in pain and staggered back, letting his own weapon fall to the bloodied ground. His world darkened as his legs gave out from underneath him. This was it, huh? His breathing became labored as drops of sweat mixed with blood trickled down his face.
Suddenly he heard several grunts from above. Iruka looked up, surprised, to see two of the enemy ninja who had previously been coming for him fall to the ground. He blinked back in shock right before he was yanked up by his arm with a wince and was pulled back. In a moment he felt the base of a tree at his back. He blinked back the red dots in his vision and gazed up in awe.
"You alright?" A shock of silver hair met the young man's gaze. An ANBU member was standing in front of him protectively, looking around with his katana drawn to make sure there were no more enemies coming.
"I-I dunno…" Iruka said breathlessly, trying to find his voice.
The ANBU slid his katana back into its sheath and knelt down next to Iruka. He looked him over once, and then tore off a strip of the Chuunin's sleeve, "That was a courageous thing you did…" He glanced up at Iruka's face. Mismatched eyes met Iruka's dark brown, "What's your name again, kid? Umino?"
"Y-Y-Yes… Sir. Iruka Umino," Iruka stammered.
"Don't call me 'sir', Umino," The ANBU replied, almost as if he were irritated at the title, "It's just Wolf."
"S-Sorry…" Iruka stammered as Wolf pressed the piece of cloth to his shoulder.
"Hold it down there," Wolf instructed, "We don't have time to properly bandage the wound yet, but if you keep pressure on it, you should hold out until we can."
"… O-Okay… Thank you…" Iruka held the cloth down hard, a little disturbed at how quickly the material was getting wet.
Wolf stood back up all the way, sliding his katana back out so fast that Iruka didn't even see it happen. He was curious for a moment, but then heard the approaching enemies. On reflex, he started to sit back up.
"Don't, Umino," Wolf said, "You've done your job already. Just let me take care of the rest of these bastards."
Iruka didn't even get a chance to respond before Wolf took off, cutting down ten enemies in the time it would take the Chuunin to take down three. He was astounded by the man's strength. No wonder he was an ANBU…
"Odd…" Iruka thought as he watched Wolf fight, "He doesn't act like the other two… Like any other ANBU I've ever met or heard of, actually…"
In only a few minutes, Wolf had walked back over to Iruka and slid his katana back in again. He sighed, like he was ashamed of cutting down those men. Iruka suddenly felt guilty, "W-Wait," He said hoarsely, "Why did you… Stay to help me?"
"… What do you mean?"
"By… Staying to help me… Didn't that jeopardize the mission?" He had a concerned look on his face, "I mean… Wouldn't it have gone faster if you hadn't come back?"
Wolf's eyes flashed with a peculiar rage that Iruka had never seen before. He flinched back on instinct before he heard Wolf sigh and shake his head again, "It would have gone faster, because you'd be dead."
Iruka blinked at the hard truth, "Well… I…" he gulped, and then set his mouth in a fine line, "If it was for the sake of the mission, I--"
"Never say that," Wolf said firmly, meeting Iruka's gaze for another second, "Ever. No matter what the other idiots try to tell you. NO mission is worth the life of a comrade. Remember that, Umino."
Iruka's mouth fell open in shock. He expected to get chastised for deterring the mission, not for what he said. But who was he to argue with this ANBU? "O-Oh… Alright…"
Wolf shook his head and pivoted around, "There shouldn't be any other enemies coming, so you should be safe for the time being. I'll regroup with the others and we'll get you some medical attention."
Iruka nodded dazedly. Wolf turned his head towards him, "You're very brave, Umino, but don't sell yourself short. Your life is worth something too," He was gone before Iruka had a chance to respond.
The Chuunin took a beat to process all of this information. That man… Wolf… He was really something. Iruka leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes as exhaustion finally took over.
"Thank you, Wolf…"
"Wow…" Naruto's eyes glimmered in awe as he looked over the village with a smile on his face; a true, proud, smile, "Kakashi-sensei… He really is amazing, isn't he?"
Iruka nodded, "That he is… Now come on," Iruka stood up, Naruto looking at him confusedly, "Let's go get some ramen. It's on me!"
The Genin's face instantly brightened up, "Really?? Awesome! Thanks sensei!!"
Iruka smiled and followed Naruto back down to the village, "Kakashi… I know you have the strength to get through this. Don't give up. After all, you were the one who taught me that, weren't you?"
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"Is everyone clear on our new course of action?" Raven announced to the group.
The three squads had just met up and were briefed on the situation by Raven. They all agreed that banding together was probably the best idea now, being as Kakashi himself had formally requested help. Since all of them had worked with him at least once- except for Talon and Hiroto -they all knew it was very rare for him to actually ask for help. Usually he was so stubborn you couldn't get him to agree to anything like that.
Everyone present nodded their heads in unison. Raven had just finished giving them all careful instructions on what the new plan was, and each individual was sure of what they were to do.
"Kakashi once took the whole ANBU by storm, throwing away all of our ideals and trying to get us to see his own," Raven said thoughtfully, shaking his head, "He resigned his position as an ANBU right after doing so. Maybe if we hadn't been so hard-headed back then, that wouldn't have happened."
There were low murmurs of agreement heard from around the circle. Raven took in all of the masked faces, and his mind automatically went back to Kakashi's last day in the ANBU. They had just gotten back from taking down a local crime boss in the area, and it had been more of a fight than they thought.
"Why the hell did they send Chuunin with us?" Badger asked heatedly as the team gathered on the roof of a building next to the Hospital.
"It was a whim of Lord Hokage's," Raven said sourly, "As much as we detested it, we had no control."
Badger grunted, crossing his arms, "Hmph. Well at least the mission was successful."
"Yes," Raven nodded, "Though I am displeased with the time it took us to accomplish the task. If we hadn't the burden of the Chuunin, we would have finished quicker."
Kakashi, who had been facing away from the two of them, whirled around at Raven's comment, "The time!? Who the hell cares about how long it took us to complete the damn mission?!"
Raven and Badger each took on surprised looks. Even with their masks on, you could tell they were shocked, "Mind your tongue, Wolf!" Raven hissed, "The less time it takes to complete the mission, the more time we have to regroup for the next one. You of all people should know that!"
"Regroup? Next mission? Is that all you idiots ever think of??" Kakashi growled fiercely, clenching his fists.
Badger swiftly grabbed Kakashi by his collar, "Hey! You'd better watch your damn mouth Hatake! Stop acting like a brat!"
"Better a brat than a fool," Kakashi said, eyes narrowing, shoving Badger off of him.
"What was that??" Badger fumed.
"I said I'd rather be a brat than a fool like the two of you," Kakashi said lowly.
"I said mind your tongue, Wolf!" Raven said, stepping forward to stand by Badger, "If I do recall, you never came into the base with us because you were too busy playing around outside!"
Kakashi scoffed, "Oh, sorry I didn't come. I was too busy saving the life of a Chuunin that you both left for dead!"
Badger looked thoughtful for a moment and then grunted, "Oh, you mean the weak-looking one with the scar on his nose? That was his choice!"
"His choice?! You're saying it was his choice to die? You two didn't even stay to back him up! Umino was left by himself with over thirty of the hundred enemy shinobi! The enemy shinobi that were at least at a Jounin level!"
Badger chuckled, "It's good practice for the kid."
"Umino knew his place," Raven said coldly, "He knew he was too weak to keep up, so he decided to sacrifice himself for the good of the mission. A worthwhile cause."
Kakashi's eyes flared up with rage, and he punched Raven so hard in the face that his mask cracked from the impact. Surprised but not off guard, Raven caught himself before he fell all the way to his back.
"What the HELL do you think you're pulling?!" Badger ran and pinned Kakashi down with a kunai to his neck.
Kakashi didn't even flinch, "I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago!" he yelled, "All of the ANBU's rules and regulations… Their ideals, their way of life… It's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard!!"
"If you think that, then why did you even join the ANBU in the first place, Hatake!?" Raven spat Kakashi's name.
"Because I love my village, damn it!" Kakashi threw Badger off of him, "I joined the ANBU because I thought I could protect Konoha! But there's a kid who's lying in the Emergency Care Unit right now who has completely proven me otherwise!" He pointed to the Hospital.
"What the hell are you going on about? Umino!?" Badger yelled, "That boy is just a kid! He knows nothing!"
"Exactly!" Kakashi yelled louder, "He's an average shinobi, with no special fighting abilities, who's never seen war! But he holds more of the Will of Fire than the two of you EVER will!"
Raven and Badger looked taken aback. Kakashi continued, "When I saved Umino, his entire body was shaking! He was traumatized! On the verge of death, and the only thing he could think about was how he had jeopardized the damn mission!"
"I don't say what you're getting so upset about, Hatake!" Raven said, "Umino is learning well if that is the case! He may even become a sufficient ANBU member one day!"
"God forbid!" Kakashi shouted, "That kid has a good heart; one that's too pure for you idiots to even begin to comprehend! A shinobi like that has potential! Is the future of this village! And that potential and future is in every kid who comes on a mission with the ANBU! So why in the hell would we willingly destroy our potential and our future!?"
He turned away in pure rage, "It makes no sense to me. And up until now I've foolishly gone along with everything even though I didn't understand. But no more. I want no part in this travesty any longer!"
"So, what? Are you going to quit?!" Badger shouted.
"Yes, I am," Kakashi took one look at the two of them, "Because I want to be able to actually sleep at night knowing that I'm not responsible for innocent people's deaths," He flew away with such speed that Badger and Raven could only watch.
"That son of a--!" Badger started to run after Kakashi, but Raven put a hand out to stop him.
"No, Badger. Let him go. Fools like him have no place with us."
Badger grunted, "Good riddance…"
Raven shook his head, "Looking back, I've realized that we were the real fools. We didn't even try to comprehend what Kakashi was telling us."
"We were so caught up in the way of life that we were taught in the ANBU, we didn't even think twice about other shinobi," Badger said quietly and regretfully.
"But that has changed; at least for the most part," Raven said, "We are all going to find Kakashi, and we're going to bring him back to the village even if that means we die in the process."
Several voices of agreement sounded from around the circle, and Raven continued, "I have already sent a messenger hawk to Lady Tsunade, so let's head out immediately!"
The group moved swiftly into a v-shaped formation with Raven in the front. Gai followed right beside the leader, his brow set in a determined line:
"The day you quit the ANBU…" He mused, "I remember that day well, Kakashi," He smirked a little, "I'd never seen you fight so hard before in one of our spars. You were so angry, and when I asked you what the trouble was, you just sighed and said that the world was a troubling place. After the fight, I was still confused, but you just clapped me on the back and thanked me," Gai smiled:
"You're a confusing man, Kakashi Hatake. But… I wouldn't rather have anyone else watching my back."
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"I see… That's troubling news, indeed…" Jiraiya muttered after Tsunade had finished explaining the situation to him, "But 'Plan B'? Somehow that doesn't sound quite like the Orochimaru I know…"
"How so?" Tsunade asked, "He always seems to be prepared for most everything. You know that."
"Yes, but this doesn't seem like one of those things, you know?" Jiraiya put a hand to his chin in thought, "I mean, why go to all of that trouble to mark Sasuke and then kidnap Kakashi? It doesn't sound like Orochimaru to give up like that. When he wants something, he'll do anything to get it, and the harder it is to get, the more appealing it is for him."
"That's true," Tsunade mumbled, "Truthfully, though, I don't think I understand his mind at all anymore…" She sighed heavily, "Hm?" Something black flying towards one of her windows caught her eye, "What's that?" She stood up, squinting at the object.
"What's what?" Jiraiya turned around too. His brow knitted together again when he saw what it was, "A messenger hawk?"
"No…" Tsunade walked up to the windowsill as the bird landed, "It's a raven," Her stomach flew up to her throat, "Does this mean they have news about Kakashi?"
Now Jiraiya was interested too, and watched carefully as Tsunade took the scroll from the raven's back and read it over thoroughly. Her eyebrows came together in a mix of frustration and worry after she finished reading the scroll. She let out some air and set the parchment on her desk, sitting down on her chair and staring at it.
"What is it?" Jiraiya asked apprehensively.
"All three of the squads I sent are grouping up into one large squad and going to find Kakashi as a whole," She bit her thumb, "Apparently they found a piece of Kakashi's clothing lying on the ground, covered in blood."
"But… Orochimaru would want Kakashi's whereabouts to be a secret… Why would he allow something that could be used to track him to go free?"
"He didn't," Tsunade shook her head, "The teams have already deduced that. You're right; Orochimaru wouldn't allow it. But if he didn't know about it…"
It took Jiraiya a moment to process the information before some surprise settled on his face, "So the brat's actually asking for help?"
"That's what it looks like…" Tsunade nodded, "I guess it really is worse than we thought. Something very bad must be going on if Kakashi himself actually asked for help."
Jiraiya shook his head, "Well, for everyone's sake, I hope they bring him back safely."
Tsunade nodded in agreement, and watched as the messenger raven flew off into the afternoon sun.
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"Lord Orochimaru, Kaka--"
"--ch great news!"
"It's --most done."
"--cellent. I sh-- ha-- full con--"
Kakashi strained to make out the words of the people who were speaking around him. However, the pounding in his head made it hard to understand much of anything. What had happened? Oh, right. He passed out… But… What happened after that? Where was he?
His eyes refused to open, and his entire body seemed to be made of lead. Why did he feel so heavy? Why in the hell did his head hurt so bad? It felt like someone was driving a dagger through his temple, trying to get into his brain.
For a long time, he could only see black. But then, slowly, an orange sheet of glistening flames started to creep up into his vision. It smothered his face, made it so he couldn't breathe. Struggling to get free, Kakashi tried to scream, but no sound came out. The flames engulfed him so that he could see only orange.
The orange intensified to a bright red, and became so hot that Kakashi could almost feel his own skin peeling off. Then suddenly the red light exploded into a blanket of white, and everything became still.
And then his eyes opened.
And he could see nothing. Nothing…
Except for Lord Orochimaru.
"Welcome home, my son…"
Author's Note:
Uh… Hi guys! *hides behind a brick wall to avoid being demolished* I suppose it would be like playing a broken record if I said I was sorry for being so incredibly late, but…
I'M SORRY!! T.T
I really am. However, these past two months have been really hectic for me, so I haven't gotten much of a chance to write… I'll explain why, just so you all know that I'm not lying.
First of all, I was VERY busy. Like, really busy. March was a really intense month for homework at my school, and I had to study for state testing.
Second of all, my uncle died on March 16th. It was on the same day last year that my grandfather, his father, died as well. It was a very hard time for my mom, being as it was her brother, so I wasn't all that focused on writing. I wanted to do what I could to comfort her. But I also wasn't in a writing mood for a few weeks after that, so I apologize.
And third of all, I've been really sick. XP April was a very hard time for me, because I was home sick from school for quite a while. It was mainly bad acid reflux, so I couldn't eat much of anything for a while either… It was pretty lame. And naturally, since I was gone from school, my grades started dropping so I was freaking out about that. I'm the kind of person who won't accept anything less than an A, so… Yeah.
But! I have worked hard and gotten my grades up, and we're going to see a specialist for my stomach problems. (I get sick ALL the time, so we're hoping he can fix things! XD) So, good things are happening! :D
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! To apologize for my being so late, I made it a few pages longer than normal. And aaaah!! What a cliffy at the end! :P I'm so awful. But hey! Nothing much else was happening in this chapter plot-wise.
A big chunk of this one is explaining Kakashi's last mission as an ANBU. I've always wanted to do a take on his last mission and why he quit, and I tried really hard to tie Iruka's story in with Raven's memories. So, I hope that didn't come across as too random!
Also also! I know I haven't had much Gai in recent chapters, and I feel really bad about that…. T.T But I swear, there WILL be more! We're getting to the more intense chapters here, so believe you me, there will be some Gai action!
Please review! I love hearing your thoughts! Thank you to all of you readers out there who have been SO patient with me! Take care! :D
(P.S. to KakashiKrazed: I am SO SORRY! I've been super busy, as I said, so I haven't reviewed your latest chapters. I know you've updated a lot, and I will try my hardest to get some reviews in soon!)