Chapter Six
"Sensei?" Kakashi picked up his speed to run alongside his teacher. They were an hour into their return journey, navigating across the arid lands.
Minato glanced at him. "Hm?"
"Was it really okay to let the Cloud go?"
For a second Minato considered lying, but then reminded himself there was no point in coddling his students for the sake of his own conscience.
He thought back to Kakashi's performance in the battle just now. Setting aside his own ruthlessness, Minato had felt a twinge of unease watching his student. It wasn't that he thought Kakashi was cruel. He had done well to break Kashin's mind – almost too well. Every day he spent with these young children was a reminder that they were not just children, but soldiers.
Minato sighed and pushed the thoughts aside for now. "I took care of him."
Neither surprise nor agitation passed through Kakashi's face. He took the fact in stride. Minato could almost see it being sorted and accommodated in the boy's analytical mind.
"You marked him with the Hiraishin when he tried to stab you." It wasn't a question.
Minato was surprised. He had on occasion used the dimension warping technique in front of his students, but had never explained what it was or how it worked. Come to think of it, back when Jyakou had ambushed them, it was as if Obito had also known that Minato would use the Hiraishin. The circumstances had made him forget that particular detail entirely. With a rueful quirk of his lips, he realized there was very little he could keep from his observant students.
"When did you figure it out?" he asked.
"Recently," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "So you killed him?"
Minato thought his disappearance of a few minutes had gone unnoticed while his students had packed. Clearly not. He sighed and looked ahead. The sky was filling with clouds, casting the land around them in shadow. He hoped it wasn't symbolic.
"Yes." There was no point in being delicate about it. "Kashin's dead."
Kakashi only nodded.
.-.-.-.
Minato set a hard pace for the next two days, never stopping for more than an hour at a time. They didn't meet anyone and weren't intercepted when they crossed the border, but they knew they were being watched for several miles into the forests of Fire Country.
They arrived home close to midnight on the third day, exhausted and covered in dust. The team paused under the guard tower to catch their breaths.
"I'm going to hand in the reports and meet with the Third," Minato said. He smiled, the only one among them who looked no worse for wear. "Our mission's complete. Well done. Midori, Obito, you're free until further notice. Get some rest. Kakashi, come with me."
Kakashi looked up with a questioning look, but wordlessly followed Minato up onto the rooftops. With every leap across the village a bad feeling settled heavier and heavier in Kakashi's mind. It was proven right when they landed in front of the hospital gates.
He slid a glance at Minato.
"Don't give me that look," the Jounin said, leading the way into the facilities. "Never take poison lightly. Even if you feel fine."
Minato explained the situation to the nurse who checked them in, reinforced his orders to Kakashi and then left. Kakashi gave a quiet, irritated sigh and followed the nurse into an examination room.
"The Mists, huh?" she said while she lit her palms with chakra and pressed them against his arm. "You're lucky, it must have been some standard poison. I heard some of their latest concoctions can kill a grown shinobi within minutes."
"What does it take to counteract it?"
The nurse raised a brow at him. "No amount of bravado that's for sure. The best way is to not get hit at all."
Kakashi nodded silently, but he wasn't thinking about himself. It struck him that if he had been a second late or if it had been a different poison, he could have gotten Midori killed. He would have failed his father. The thought made him feel cold inside, despite the warmth of the healer's chakra.
The examination went on for another half hour. The nurse poked and prodded, asked questions and took several blood samples, then told Kakashi to wait there for the results to come back.
The moment the door closed, Kakashi jumped out the window.
He reasoned he wasn't disobeying Minato's orders. He had gone through the tests. If they found anything they would contact him. With that, he put the issue to rest.
The main streets were quiet, but Kakashi nevertheless kept to the side alleys or rooftops. He lived in a bachelor's apartment block nestled in a corner of town where the streets were narrow and ill kept. It was a place mothers herded their young away from and that suited Kakashi fine.
The Third had also given him the option of living closer to the residential side of town where he had grown up, but he had been quick to turn down the offer. At least here, across the village, he wouldn't have to run into familiar neighbors. Most of the residents in this block were shinobi who were rarely back for more than a day between missions and no one paid him any attention.
He climbed the stairs to his room and let himself in without turning on the lights. He slid out of his shoes, side-stepped the small kitchen and opened the door into the bedroom. Moonlight streamed in from the window, illuminating the small space he now called home.
Kakashi dropped his bag at the foot of the desk, then pulled off his forehead protector and unclipped the weapons pouch, placing them on the shelf above the bed. His eyes lingered on the team photo, the only piece of decoration in the room.
He hesitated, half wanting to fall asleep right away. But the niggling unrest in his mind made him turn on the bedside lamp and pick up a ninjutsu scroll. He read far into the night, listening to two cats screeching intermittently across the street.
.-.-.-.
The sunlight stung his eyes. Kakashi turned over and buried his face in the pillow, but sleep had already fled. He sighed and sat up, glancing at the clock. He squinted and looked again. It was past 9. No wonder the sun was so high. The abundant light coming through the window made his room look unfamiliar and reminded him how little time he spent in there.
After taking a shower and a bite of leftover field rations, Kakashi left the apartment. He avoided the crowded streets and took a longer but quieter route to the training grounds where he found several teams already occupying the fields. He wandered deeper into the forest until he found an open area secluded by a dense line of trees on one side and a river on the other.
He thought again of the fight against the Mists and the nurse's words the night before. He had to protect his team. The Chuunin exam and their latest mission were consecutive reminders that even the smallest lapse in concentration could spell death for any one of them.
He should have been quicker, noticed the poison sooner, kept a tab on where his teammates were located, known a jutsu that could have deflected the weapons. The options were endless and yet he had managed to do none of them.
Irritation clouded his mind. He needed to grow stronger.
Kakashi pushed off the ground and landed in the middle of the river. Suiton Suijinheki. The moment he touched the water, it shot up in a circular wall around him and then crashed down to rejoin the current a second later. Kakashi lowered his joined hands and stared thoughtfully into the distance. If he could precision control the technique to rise only where he needed the protection, he was confident he could shorten both the time and seals needed to execute it.
Next time, he vowed, he wouldn't mess up in battle.
"Kakashi!"
He turned and saw Midori and Obito heading his way. He blinked.
"I don't remember making plans to meet up," he said, walking back to shore.
Midori grinned. "I caught Obito this morning."
"She wants to learn the Goukakyuu," Obito mumbled, his voice making no secret of his doubts. Midori struck his head with her fist and he gave a short cry.
"You want to stick around?" she asked Kakashi with a sly grin and meaningful glint in her eyes.
"I was actually –"
"You will stick around, right?" She spoke through clenched teeth and her hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar. "After all, you know the technique."
"I think it's safer if you agree," Obito whispered into his ear while rubbing his sore head.
Kakashi sighed in resignation and nodded.
"Let's get it over with then," Obito said. "The seals are Snake, Sheep, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger." Midori silently went through the motion of the seals. When she felt comfortable with them she looked up and Obito went on. "The theory behind the technique is simple: draw chakra to your lungs, concentrate it and then release. Just like sucking in air and blowing out."
Midori nodded, her brows furrowed in concentration. Her hands flicked through the seals, faster now, and took a deep breath.
"Wait Midori!" both boys shouted in wide eyed alarm.
"What?" she snapped
"That way!" Obito shot back, pointing to the river. "Do you want to burn us alive?"
"Oh." She stuck out her tongue and grinned sheepishly. Obito and Kakashi sighed and watched their teammate walk onto the river, facing the flow. Her hands deftly went through the seals again, her chest expanded and she let loose the Goukakyuu – a flicker of fire the size of a candle flame.
Kakashi's expression didn't change. Obito shook his head. Midori coughed into her hand, the color rising to her face.
"I was just warming up!" she called and repeated the technique. There was no difference.
"This might take a while," Obito muttered, settling down on the grass.
Kakashi wasn't surprised. It wasn't easy manipulating an element beyond one's affinity. Midori, in particular, was talented in extending her chakra outside her body to control surrounding elements. Fire and lightning, however, required a greater internal concentration of chakra to produce an element not already at hand.
"She would have an easier time with water and earth techniques," he said.
"That's what I told her. I even brought her a scroll full of wind ninjutsu but she wasn't interested." Obito pulled out the rolled parchment from his pocket and glanced through it. "Maybe I should try some of these."
"Wind and fire make good combinations," Kakashi agreed. "It's about time you learned something other than Katon techniques."
"Tell that to the clan geezers," Obito snorted. "They're obsessed with the Uchiha legacy. You wouldn't believe how often they've 'happened' to be taking a stroll in front of our house to see if I've awakened the Sharingan yet. They think I'm somehow special because I graduated early. What if I'm just good at Bunshin no jutsu?"
"From what I've heard, not everyone inherits the bloodline trait."
Obito looked horrified. "They're bad enough now, what will they do if I don't? I know a distant cousin who never developed the Sharingan. His family married so many outsiders he knows more snow techniques than fire for crying out loud. I think we share great-grandparents or something. What if I end up like him?"
"I don't know, why are you asking me?" Kakashi muttered.
Obito sighed heavily and flopped onto his back. Almost as quickly, he sat back up, grimacing and rubbing the bump on his head where Midori had punched him.
"And why can't she be like every other girl? Like Rin?" he grumbled. "Shy, gentle, kind, giggly, fashionable, less violent… Far less violent."
"Rin and every other girl are still at the Academy practicing shuriken throws," Kakashi replied. "They won't be any help in the war."
Obito stared into the distance and his voice was quieter when he spoke. "I hope it ends before they need to."
Kakashi doubted that but didn't say it out loud. They settled into a comfortable silence, the only sounds coming from Midori's frustrated efforts on the river. After a while they eventually died down and Obito turned to see their teammate making her way toward them.
"Are you here to make another lump on my head?" he asked.
"No." She looked uncomfortable and turned her face to the side to avoid eye-contact with either of them. "Could you…give me a hint?"
"There really isn't any," Obito replied, much to Midori's visible aggravation. "It's just a different way of molding chakra. It'll take time before you get used to it."
"Can you show me? Just once."
Obito shrugged and agreed. They returned to the riverside and he performed the technique while Midori studied his every move. Once the flames disappeared, Midori stepped onto the water and tried again – with no success.
Obito said something, Midori snapped back, and it soon devolved into a bickering argument with the both of them trying to pinch and twist each other's cheeks while hurling garbled insults. The sight made Kakashi laugh before he could check himself and strangely, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He wanted to protect this inexplicable sense of warmth that his team gave him. Whether it stemmed from duty or friendship as Obito insisted, he didn't know. For now, it seemed irrelevant.
"Wait! Midori! Midori!" Obito shouted, stumbling back from the river with his hands held out to ward off her pincers. "Stop, I have an idea! Let's play a game!"
He looked over his shoulder and grinned.
Kakashi got a bad feeling.
"If we beat the genius here," Obito went on, "he shows us what's under that mask."
"What kind of a game is that?" Kakashi grumbled.
"A curiosity game. I mean, come on, you eat by yourself, you keep the mask on when you sleep, you even manage to brush your teeth without us knowing. If it hadn't been for sensei, I swear I would have taken it off while you were out cold from that poison."
"He really tried," Midori giggled.
"Besides, we disturbed your training," Obito added. "Think of it as repayment."
"A poor one," Kakashi muttered.
Midori grinned and cracked her knuckles. "I'm game."
Kakashi sighed. He hated it when his bad feelings proved right.
By the time the sun began slanting into the west, Kakashi was bent over at the waist, hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. He was scratched, bruised, sweaty and dirty but a sight better than the other two sprawled on the ground.
They were back by the river, Obito still half submerged in it. Midori lay with her eyes closed, face-down on the grass with dirt and grime smeared from head to toe. The field surrounding them was trampled, pockmarked and burned in more than a few places. Even the trees looked disheveled.
"Dammit… we were so close," Midori said between gasps of air.
"That's an optimistic way of putting it," Obito said as he heaved himself out of the river with shaky arms.
"Shut up."
Kakashi straightened and glanced at the edge of the forest. "Sensei?"
Midori and Obito looked up and were surprised to see their teacher drop down in front of them.
"How long have you been there?" Obito asked.
"For the past half hour," Kakashi replied instead.
Midori dropped her face back into the grass with a groan. "I didn't even notice."
"I didn't want to disturb you," Minato said with a smile.
Obito pushed back his wet hair and drained the water from his goggles. "Please say we don't have a mission now."
Minato laughed lightly. "We don't."
All three sighed in relief.
"Kakashi."
Kakashi froze and glanced at his teacher from the corner of his eyes.
Minato forced a grin and spoke through clenched teeth. "Nurse Tomoe gives her regards. She told me all about the empty room she walked into last night."
"But no Kage Bunshin," Kakashi pointed out.
Obito snorted with laughter.
"He got you there, sensei," Midori said.
Minato gave a loud sigh. "You guys are hopeless." Then he turned serious. "We just had an emergency meeting. A Genin group came back earlier today with their Jounin teacher critically injured. They were attacked crossing the border. The Clouds and Rocks have also officially declared open war. We're to tell all our students that no one leaves the Village walls unless on a mission. Border patrols are being set up as we speak."
"What about the Sanbi?" Kakashi asked.
"An ANBU team was just dispatched to verify the information. Needless to say, anything regarding the beast is confidential, understand?"
The three nodded.
Minato then turned to Midori with a lighter expression. "How did the Goukakyuu go?"
She sat up. "How did you know about that?"
"Your fingers. Everyone burns them the first time they begin practicing a Katon jutsu."
Midori closed her hand over the raw thumb and index finger and scowled at the ground. Minato chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"We start missions again tomorrow, so be ready."
"Hai," they replied.
Sunset saw them walking down to the village together, three children barely the height of their teacher's waist but with heads held high and unafraid. Every day they grew – taller, stronger, faster, wiser; a shade more cynical and apprehensive of a harsh world but meeting it with courage, dedication and loyalty to their Village and each other.
So the days turned to months, the months to years, until four years had gone by.
Translations:
Hiraishin - flying thunder god
Suiton Suijinheki - wall of water
Bunshin no jutsu - clone technique
.LinSetsu.