3a
It had been three days since our last training session. I finally had summoned my students together for practice. Naruto, who was as hyper as ever, probably from lack of exercise while I had moped around, was bouncing impatiently. Sakura seemed extremely tired and kept glancing at Sasuke. I watched them, waiting for the groan that would come when I began to talk.
"Time to train," I smiled at the groan from Naruto and Sakura. I started to whistle a random tune as I led the way to the training grounds. I was hoping to test their patience with the whistling, maybe even get some death threats from the young teens. Sasuke ignored me, but that was usual. I was surprised that Naruto and Sakura did nothing. They were either all very tired or annoyed about something else. I could not help much in either department and would probably only make matters worse through the intense training they were going to be put through.
I stopped at a rather large tree and Sakura looked at me, annoyed as she waited for instruction.
"What do you want us to do?" She finally growled. She then yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"I want you to climb up that tree, no chakra." I told my students enthusiastically. This time, all three groaned, in one long note. I swore I saw birds taking flight at the angry outburst from my students. I finally put up a hand, silencing the protests and pointed at the tree again.
"But, it's so big!" Naruto shouted, huffed and crossed his arms.
"You can do it," I smiled back.
"I can't even fit my arms around it," Naruto yelled.
"Maybe you shouldn't use your arms then," Sasuke coughed and I paused. I finally frowned. "Just get started." I said with a smile. I watched as everyone got out their kunai and made their way towards the gnarled trunk.
I found a comfortable tree to sit against and pulled out Ichi Ichi Paradise. Sasuke had resorted to using brute strength and his kunai to get up. Naruto was charging head on, and he kept falling. I looked at Sakura, interested to see if she would try something different, but she only whipped out her Kunai and followed Sasuke's lead. I made a quick bet with myself that Sasuke would reach the top first.
It was after an hour of training when the earth began to rumble. Screams filled the air around us. My students fell from the tree, hitting the ground hard. All three groaned, trying to scramble to their feet as the earth rolled and shook. A moment later a young boy shot out of the woods, looking like a scared rabbit. He tried to spring past me but I snatched his shoulder. The earth rolled again and the boy quivered and tried to get away.
"What is happening?" I demanded.
"The earth, it's splitting." He shivered and his eyes were wide. He was terrified. I let go of the boy when I heard a loud cracking sound. It was coming from the direction of Tenshi's grave. I dodged a large tree that fell, the earth groaning again and then everything stopped. I jumped over fallen branches and finally came to the clearing. Smoke rose from the crater that now sat where Tenshi's grave had been. The statue lay on its side. The place had all but been blown up. The little white flowers were burnt and gone. Grass was burned brown in some spots. Toru, my old sensei, struggled to get back into his wheelchair. Sakura ran over to help him. Toru looked shocked. Then I saw the coffin.
Tenshi's coffin had been opened and pulled out of the ground. It was empty.
"Tenshi!" I screamed, running forward towards the defiled grave. Everything told me to hunt down whoever had done this to the grave and to kill them.
"Stop," A voice demanded. It was familiar, but at the moment I could not identify it. I struggled against the hands that secured me back from tearing apart everything until I had found Tenshi's body.
"Tenshi!" I shouted again.
"Kakashi, damn it! Stop!" I was not listening though. A fist hit my jaw and left me dazed for a moment. I flinched in pain and looked into Gestan's face. His dark brown eyes watched me, his anger hooded as he tried to contain his own outrage at the event that had just occurred. I finally found my voice.
"What happened?" Gestan shook his head, releasing me now that my head was clearer.
"I don't know. I just arrived and was paying my respects, along with Toru, when a dark man in a cloak showed up. He did something with his hands, maybe some signs? I do not know exactly. I am sorry Kakashi. I tried to stop him, I really did. I went right through his body. He took her… he took her body." Gestan spat bitterly. He pulled off his green bandana, which covered his dark hair. He fiddled with his gold hooped earrings as he tried to figure out what was going on.
"We need to catch him," I snarled, falling to my knees and digging my fingers into the freshly turned earth. A rock bit into my palm, but I did not wince and waited for myself to calm down.
"Kakashi, let's get you home." Gestan pulled me to my feet, keeping a solid grip on my shoulder. He was smart to do so, for if he had let me go then I probably would have run.
We walked past my stunned students. Gestan told them to leave. I did not want to explain anything to my students at the moment. By the time we reached my apartment, I had calmed down more. Well, more dead than calm.
Gestan allowed me to collapse onto my couch. He went into my kitchen, slamming cupboards as he looked for something. I put my face in my hands, taking deep shaking breathes. How could I have let this happen? How could Tenshi's body have been taken? And why had it happened?
"Kakashi," I did not want Gestan to apologize to me anymore. Tenshi had been like a sister to him, so I knew he would have done everything in his power to stop the mysterious man from taking her body.
"Don't," I cut him off and took the tea he offered me. I looked up at Gestan with tired, grief filled eyes. "You look like you have aged ten years." I declared finally after looking him over. Gestan got out a laugh and smiled.
"Not much I can say for you. We saw each other, what, like a year ago?" I nodded. It had been about a year when we had last seen each other. We had both went to Tenshi's grave, talking fondly of the past and then to a bar to down our sorrows until we passed out on my living room floor. It was a yearly occurrence for us.
"What about her body?" I asked, letting my gaze drift around the room. I was hoping to come up with some terrible way to torture the grave robber when he was found.
"We will find who did this." Gestan was determined. "Who would rob a grave in broad daylight?" I closed my eyes, taking a sip of the strong tea. He was right. Nobody was stupid enough to rob during the day. They had to be strong, indestructible if they had no fear to pull of the heist in Konoha.
"You should probably go talk to Toru, he is probably in shock." My old sensei took flowers to Tenshi's grave weekly. I briefly recalled him being at the grave site, his wheelchair tipped over, now that I thought of it.
"I think I will," Gestan said. He left a few minutes later, leaving me to grieve on my own. Leaving me to plot how I would kill whoever was responsible for what had taken place. I would kill them.