Part II: Friend or Foe

Chapter Seven:

In the untamed forests sprawling across the western regions of Fire Country, an unnatural silence blanketed the dusk. The dense foliage blocked all light from the sun's final moments above the horizon and shuddered violently in the wake of sharp crescent gales that tore through the air. Slashing clean through a bough, they bore down on two figures slinking in its shadow.

The attack tore into the torso of one, while the other propelled himself up and over the winds, only to be engulfed by a streak of fire. Kakashi dove down its side, feeling the scorching heat against his skin, and swung a chakra-charged heel into the shinobi's chest. He crashed into a tree, the flames disappearing to leave behind the stench of burnt flesh.

Kakashi pressed a kunai into the raw skin of the shinobi's neck and glanced at the forehead protector with the Rock's insignia.

"You have no reason to be in Fire Country," Kakashi said. "Get out."

Breathing harshly, the Rock glared at him but made no move to attack. Slowly, Kakashi withdrew the blade and stepped back. The man heaved himself to his feet and leapt down, pausing only to pick up his fallen comrade.

Kakashi watched them disappear into the encroaching darkness toward the border and slipped the kunai back into his holster.

A moment later, Midori and Obito landed silently on either of him.

"Our team's on their way home," Midori said.

Kakashi nodded. As border control it was their job to provide backup for teams crossing the border, in or out, in case they were ambushed by the enemy. Since the Sands had successfully occupied the nations west of Fire Country a year ago, the frequency of those occurrences had almost doubled, making patrol missions rank A deployments.

Obito heaved a sigh and rolled his shoulders. "Let's find a place to rest. The next team from Konoha won't arrive until dawn."

"What, tired?" Midori teased.

He threw her a dry look. "You have zero leverage when you look like a panda with those bags under your eyes."

She scowled and scrubbed a hand against her face. "At least I'm not sighing like an old man."

"Try it. It would suit you great."

Kakashi snatched Midori's wrist before she could reach Obito's neck.

"Later."

"Wait," Obito said. "You mean she can strangle me later?"

Midori snorted. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said. "Mission. Focus."

They did one last patrol of their stretch of land and then settled under an overhang of gnarled, ancient roots. Unlike the flat lands surrounding Konoha, the forest here grew on rugged slopes and river gorges, making it easy to find cover but equally as hard to detect enemies.

Kakashi took the first watch and sat on a low branch above their hideout. Below him, Obito and Midori were quietly squabbling. At least that much hadn't changed in four years.

Many other things had.

Midori and Obito had made Chuunin two years ago during a hastily organized exam held between Konoha and the Sand. Whereas the previous exam had focused heavily on showcasing individual combat skills, this one had prioritized tactical maneuvers and ambush strategies as partial training for the war.

Since their promotions, Minato had increasingly been called to solo missions and the three Chuunin were sent out on their own. Somehow, their teacher still managed to coordinate their times back in the village to train, but while none of the three said it out loud, they missed his cheerful, calm presence at times – especially at times like this when they were on lengthy patrol missions or sent as reinforcements to battles.

Kakashi glanced down at his teammates. They all wore their Chuunin vests now, as much to show their rank as to carry weapons and tools when they left the village for extended periods of time. Obito wore his clan crest on his sleeve, but his goggles were still stubbornly fixed over his eyes.

Midori had grown out her hair and kept it tied in a braided knot that made her look sterner than they all knew she was. Though Obito made fun of her, both he and Kakashi could understand her decision. Their youths were ideal for making enemies underestimate them, but they had quickly realized the same was true among their allies, stirring uncertainty and doubt on more than one occasion.

Kakashi sighed and let go of the thoughts, turning his attention to their surroundings instead.

.-.-.-.

Midori bolted awake, her eyes wide and her breaths coming in uneven gasps. For several long seconds she stared blankly down at her hands, waiting for the dream to fade away.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up and saw Obito sitting with his back against the great roots. He was rolling a piece of wood chip unhurriedly in his hand. He had picked up the habit of fiddling with things over the years.

"Nothing." She looked away and saw Kakashi laying a little distance away with his back turned.

"You don't have to act tough," Obito said. His voice was quiet, so unlike the screeches she was used to hearing when they fought – which was most of the time.

She breathed in deeply and let it out in a slow exhale as she ran a hand over her dusty face. "I keep dreaming about battles."

Obito was silent a moment. "You mean…?"

"No." She shook her head. "Not that."

Several months before their Chuunin exam, Midori had killed an enemy for the first time and it had haunted her for weeks. Minato had stuck close to the team after that and though Midori eventually recovered her balance, some part of her innocence had died with the man. They had all gone through that change.

"Just dreams of chaos and blood," Midori whispered. "I hate this war."

"I'm with you there," Obito replied.

There was a rustling in the trees. They were on their feet in a second, looking up at the roots arching above them where two Leaf ninjas landed.

"We're here to take over," one of them said. "Hokage-sama summoned you."

"What for?" Obito muttered, more to himself. Before either of them had a chance to reply, Kakashi darted up the root and slashed a kunai across the throat of the nearest man. With a gurgled cry he fell down the other side and the second shinobi jumped away in alarm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted. He turned to Midori and Obito. "Get your teammate in check! He's killed his own comrade!"

"Kakashi?" Midori asked.

"They reek of blood and burnt flesh," he said.

"So? We were in a fight," the shinobi explained.

"Against us?" Obito finished. "You should have thought to change your scent. Kakashi doesn't forget a person's stink so quickly."

The shinobi ground his teeth in annoyance. He released the Henge as he took off, hurling several shuriken at them, which Kakashi countered easily.

"He had his chance. Don't let him get away."

"Of course not," Obito said, leaping up into the trees. Kakashi followed suit while Midori flicked through a set of hand seals. The two boys were already in position when her winds tore across the forest floor, raising dirt and leaves in a flurry to block the enemy. The Rock dropped to the ground, preparing to hide beneath the soil but was forced to jump over a streak of lightning. He realized his mistake as soon as a set of wires tightened around his body and flared up in angry flames.

Midori ran toward the enemy engulfed in Obito's katon technique. She hooked a finger around a kunai and gripped it tight, ready to finish her part. But she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, a light tap, and watched Kakashi leap ahead of her. Pushing off the ground with a burst of chakra, he buried his kunai into the Rock's throat, heedless of the flames, and skidded to a stop behind the figure that had gone still. With a thud, he collapsed and Obito released his flames.

Midori stared at the body and then turned to Kakashi. "You don't need to protect me anymore. I'm fine."

"I know." It was all he said. Without a word they headed back to their hideout and found the other Rock still alive and crawling away. His wound was deep. Kakashi knew it was only a matter of time before he bled out. Pulling out another kunai, he headed toward the Rock but as he stooped down to put him out of his misery, Kakashi felt a new presence landing in the shadows right before him. He jumped back, weapon raised defensively as another Konoha Jounin stepped out.

Barely sparing a glance at the three Chuunin, he knelt by the Rock ninja and gathered a visible glow of chakra around his hands. Kakashi recognized it as medical ninjutsu and was about to stop him when the Jounin tapped a hand against the ninja's back. The Rock gave a sharp gasp and all life left him. The vacant eyes staring at the three Chuunin told them he was dead.

"I hate seeing kids do the dirty work," the Jounin said, finally looking up to meet their wary eyes. He had no striking characteristic; just an ordinary man with a worn hitai-ate around his neck. When he stepped toward them, the three raised their weapons.

"Suspicion is a good," he said, lifting his hands in a peaceful gesture. The chakra was gone. "But I'm not your enemy. Didn't you get our message? We left the Village early."

"Everyone seems to be early today," Midori said.

"Who are 'we' anyway?" Obito asked.

"Midori?"

They all turned to see two children stepping out of from behind the trees: a girl with a bob-cut framing her gentle eyes and a frowning boy wearing an all-black outfit.

"Rin," Midori said in surprise, lowering her kunai. Obito and Kakashi did so too, recognizing them both.

"They didn't tell us you were on border patrol," Rin said, hugging Midori and smiling at the other two boys. "It's been so long."

"Not long enough," the boy muttered.

Obito wrapped an arm around his shoulder playfully. "Don't be like that Asuka. It's good to see you both."

"I see we don't need introductions," the Jounin said.

"Just yours," Kakashi replied.

"The name's Nobuki." He paused for a moment, his eyes on the four. "Is this a family reunion or what?"

"Of sorts," Kakashi said.

Asuka was pushing away from Obito, the bold Uchiha crests on their clothes lined together, shoulder to back. Midori and Rin had grown to look even more alike over the years despite their different hairstyles.

"You should hear the praise for you back home," Rin as saying. "They say you're even better than some of the adults."

Midori smiled ruefully and shrugged. "You're training to be a medic. That's going to be more help in this war than I'll ever be."

Rin blinked and looked at her with worried eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"Maybe I'm just a little tired," Midori admitted. "We've been out here for almost a week."

Asuka made a derisive noise. "That's why girls shouldn't become soldiers."

Rin began to berate him but Midori beat her to it with a sharp laugh. "Look who's talking. The dead last of the class. Should I remind you of the time we sparred at the Academy?"

"I don't like hitting girls."

"Good luck when you run into enemy kunoichi," Midori retorted.

"Enough chit-chat kids," Nobuki cut in. "We have a mission to do."

"Where are you headed?" Obito asked.

"A small village in River Country," Rin said. "Reports say the people there practice an unusual form of medicine that might cure our teacher."

"You mean, he isn't?" Midori asked, looking to Nobuki.

He shook his head. "I just got dumped with them because I'm a medic and they both seem interested in learning. Their teacher was injured in the last battle and brought back in a coma."

"You're training to be a medic?" Obito asked, his incredulous eyes on Asuka.

"You have a problem with it?" he snapped back. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Rin. "This mission is just wild rumors. You shouldn't get your hopes up."

"As pessimistic as ever," Obito said. "What kind of a medic will that make you? Put some faith in hope."

"Hope never got me anywhere," Asuka retorted.

The conversation reminded Kakashi of their Academy days. They had all enrolled in the same year but Asuka, who had never shared Obito's talent for shinobi skills or social ease, had often sat alone in sullen silence. Kakashi hadn't disliked him. In fact, they had sat together in silence on several occasions, reading on a bench behind the Academy. Still, there was no denying his shortcomings. Asuka had continually failed to make it out from Obito's shadow and was often labeled 'the other Uchiha' behind his back. His brittle personality and harsh words hadn't earned him any favors either. The only one who would talk to him was Rin, who had time and again defended his criticism of others by saying he was always that much harder on himself.

From what Kakashi remembered, Asuka hadn't shown any indication of being a good chakra controller, which was a definite requirement for anyone hoping to enter the medical field. And while it made sense to train together as a team, in terms of efficiency and mission success rates, it would have been better to separate them – if Asuka was really trying to become a medic. The discrepancy bugged him but he decided to keep it to himself for now.

"What happened to your third team member?" he asked instead.

"We never had one," Rin said. "Since the war began, some civilian families pulled their children out of the Academy and the numbers didn't work out."

"A bunch of cowards," Asuka said. "They can't escape the war."

Midori's face darkened. She had never been tolerant of his attitude when he couldn't even back it up with action but she tried to believe Rin's words. Her cousin was particularly perceptive when it came to people and often saw something beneath the underneath that Midori tended to miss. So she said nothing.

"Don't be a prick, Asuka," Obito said. "They're still our friends and citizens of Fire Country. It's our responsibility to protect them."

"They were never my friends."

"Alright, enough," Nobuki cut in again. "At this rate our early start will end up being meaningless. Let's go."

With wordless nods, they set out to the border. Obito scouted ahead while Midori and Kakashi flanked the team. All was quiet and it wasn't long before they crossed safely into River Country. For several miles they traveled together and then halted briefly where the forest began to thin out.

"This is as far as we go," Kakashi said.

Nobuki nodded.

Rin took Midori's hands and squeezed gently. "Thank you," she said, smiling. "Obito, Kakashi, thank you too."

The three of them watched the medic team continue their journey, just as the sky began to brighten into a pale grey.

Obito clasped his hands behind his head. "Just two words, but it feels good to be appreciated sometimes."

Midori turned to her teammates, a smile on her face and nodded.

Response to reviewer Guest: Thanks for your review! Sorry it takes me a while until the next update to respond. I'm glad you're in favor of Rin coming back. We'll see how canon it ends up. I'm still mulling. As for how dark this can get, I think it'll be a lot darker than it originally was. As this chapter probably already illustrates, I'm going to really push the 'growing up in war' aspect of Kakashi.

Thank you to everyone else reading along too!

.LinSetsu.