Little warning for referenced torture and child death.

Chapter 13.

Kakashi opened his eyes. Waking up from unconsciousness always felt a little like emerging from underneath the water after a long dive with his eyes closed. The world spun around nauseatingly. He was pretty sure he was running a fever. His shoulder throbbed, sending flares of pain down his arm and of his neck.

Kuriarare hadn't let up for hours.

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut.

Don't think about it don't think about it.

He hadn't said anything. Of that, at least, he could be proud. He dared a glance down his arm. It looked like it had been flayed. Had felt like it, too. It wouldn't heal easily.

He had never known water jutsu could be so sharp.

Some distant part of his brain recited a piece of research that showed that adult shinobi often went easier on kids and preferred to avoid hurting them, even if they were on opposite sides. Most child casualties were the result of explosions or mass attacks. Maybe legends couldn't afford such luxuries. Or maybe Kuriarare was simply a psychopath.

Kuriarare was sitting by the cave entrance, looking out into the valley below. It was pouring rain, but the sun was coming up. It was strangely comforting to see light filtering through the raindrops, casting a rainbow in the distance.

Kuriarare shifted and looked over his shoulder. "Morning, sunshine. Ready to go to your new home?" He sounded cheerful. Psychopath, then. Or a good actor.

New home. Kiri, probably. That made sense. They would take Obito's eye and then have as much time as they needed to interrogate Kakashi. Kiri was infamous for its interrogations. His heartbeat spiked. I don't want this I don't want –

Breathe. Think. Panic has never helped anyone.

He couldn't fight – he had lost too much blood already, most of it caked to his front, and his hip was probably fractured. The fever suggested infection. But he had sent Pakkun home. The dog would get help.

Kakashi could play for time.

"I liked the architecture, last time I visited. Very child friendly," he said, blithely ignoring the tremor in his voice. He would have shrugged, but well…

"He says, shivering," Kuriarare scoffed.

"I'm serious. I like the color scheme, all that blue – very professional."

Kuriarare tilted his head a little.

Kakashi ignored his nerves. He will hurt you anyway, it doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter. Pain doesn't matter. Everything is temporary, even this. "Bet you have a nice house. Does it pay well, being infamous?"

Kuriarare finally cracked a grin. "What, you looking to make a name for yourself?"

"You have seen me, right?"

Kuriarare scoffed again. "Kid, for every legend there's ten promising dead kids. A freaky eye and a fireworks show for a fist don't mean you make it. "

"Means I stand a chance, though."

"Sure, but what for? You like making people bleed? Because I sure do. But you? You saved your little girl. You're softhearted. Like all you Konoha fools."

Kakashi stilled. "You think Konoha's softhearted?"

"Don't you?"

His father, turned into a pariah. Kushina and Rin, driven to the edges of society to keep their secrets. Obito, dying at age twelve.

"I think Konoha is a cold place," he said.

Kuriarare hummed. He smiled faintly. "You ever hear about Kiri's graduation ceremony? Each of us has to kill a classmate to pass. Fun, right? The fear often drives kids mad before it's even started. Four years ago, one kid got so scared he slaughtered his entire class. Just for fear of dying. He'd be around your age. Nice kid. Ambitious."

Kakashi clenched his jaw.

"I reiterate: Konoha's soft," Kuriarare shrugged. "Anyway – we had our fun, but it's time to go. Don't suppose you can walk?" He didn't wait for an answer, but instead stepped over to Kakashi and put the hood back over his head. Kuriarare checked the ties on his hands and feet. His eyes lingered on Kakashi's wounds.

There was too much blood, and they both knew it.

Kuriarare looked thoughtful for a moment. "Don't really want you doing that lightning thing while you're on my back, kid." His fist swung, and the world turned black again.

And this man we are chasing is from Kiri? Sanbi asked again, gleefully.

Rin bit her lip. You already know, she thought.

The forest ground disappeared rapidly underneath her feet. Pakkun was setting a murderous pace, but Rin felt strong. How much of it was her, she wondered, and how much of it was the demon?

That is for me to know and you to find out, Sanbi cackled. Finally, we're outside of those damned walls!

Despite her determination not to agree with Sanbi on anything, Rin had to concede this point. It was good to be outside of the village again. Before Sanbi, before everything, she had rarely stayed within the village for more than a week before a new mission took her and her team outside the walls again. Konoha was a large village, but it still felt constraining to be within her walls without a single break.

That didn't mean she liked agreeing with her new tenant, though. Or that he seemed to be listening in on her thoughts. If she couldn't trust in the privacy of her own mind –

It's because you're angry. You're emotional. Sanbi laughed again. That leaves you defenseless.

But outside of that? He knew her name, somehow. How much else did he know?

Enough, Sanbi preened.

"Stop listening in!" Rin cried out.

Pakkun looked back at her. "Huh? Listening into what? I ain't no eavesdropper."

Rin flushed. "Sorry! I'm – I was talking to myself."

Pakkun held her gaze for a bit longer. "Right. Because that's totally healthy."

Rin ducked her head. Great. Now she had a demon inside her head rifling through her memories and a pug outside her head judging her for her craziness. Just what she needed. Was this her life now?

"Let's just keep going," she said softly.

Pakkun hummed, already distracted by something else. "I smell petrichor. It's raining up ahead. We have to hurry, before it washes away the scent."

Rin's stomach turned. "Can't you… sense him? Through your summoning contract?"

"Only to the point that I know he's alive," Pakkun said. "Think of it as a kind of awareness in the back of your mind. I know he's out there somewhere, but I can't pinpoint him."

Still alive. Still alive still alive still alive. "You couldn't have told me that sooner?" Rin snapped. "I thought – I didn't know –"

Pakkun growled." You think I'd be leading you in danger if I didn't think there was a chance of saving him? You've changed a lot. I'm not sure I like it."

Rin blinked. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm worried."

Pakkun snorted. "That makes two of us," he grumbled. "You know, you used to be such sweet girl. I let you touch my paws and everything."

Rin remembered that particular dubious honor. She should try to unruffle the dog's feathers, but what would be the point if – if –

Help me go faster, she thought.

Heat spread through her body like a fever and when she pushed off of the next branch, she shot forward at a far greater speed, easily overtaking Pakkun. She felt lightheaded, like she was coming down with something. Sweat pearled on her forehead.

"Guess we're speeding up," Pakkun grumbled, his tiny legs working overtime. "You owe me a belly rub after this."

"Done," Rin said. "Better yet," she added, and scooped the pug up into her arms. Pakkun was tiring. "We'll be faster this way."

"Are you on soldier pills or something?" Pakkun's little claws scrabbled at her arm. "You were never this fast before."

"They're very special soldier pills," Rin said, distracted. She could see the rain up ahead, coming down in sheets. She grimaced. "Can you still smell him?"

"I'm not an amateur. I'll tell you if I lose it."

Otherwise, I'll find him for you, Sanbi said. Rin had the distinct feeling he didn't mean Kakashi. But then Sanbi had no reason to like Kiri, did he? As far as she knew, Sanbi had been in Kiri since the first Hokage captured all the bijuu and sold them off to the other villages to ensure balance. That was almost eighty years ago. Not a lot of time for a demon, perhaps, but plenty of time to be...

Yes? Do finish that thought. What you think they did to me? Sanbi rumbles, his voice caught somewhere in between amusement and bitterness.

It was a little difficult to communicate through thought alone – too easy for her line of thought to get distracted and ramble off into some entirely unrelated idea – but it was better than scaring other people by talking to herself.

You're a prisoner, Rin thought. They lock you up inside of people and use you as a weapon. Your freedom was taken from you. They use you as a weapon.

I am a weapon, aren't I? Sanbi asked.

I don't know. You are now, but were you always? No creature is born a soldier.

Sanbi didn't respond. Rin tried to remember what she had learned about bijuu prior to their capture by the Hokage, but the memory was spotty at best. They had roamed the world, she thought, free to do whatever they pleased. It seemed so unlikely that people had allowed them to. Then again, there had never been anyone like the first Hokage before. What a life he had led. Rin couldn't imagine living on such a scale. One human being, just one, had changed the fates of millions.

And ours too, Sanbi said. How embarrassing.

"They're moving," Pakkun croaked. Rin had almost forgotten about him. "Quickly now. They're not very fast, but if they get over the border…"

"We will follow anyway," Rin said, because if Kakashi could follow her into an enemy shinobi village, she could cross the border for him.

Pakkun looked up at her, his canine features hard to read. "I guess you haven't changed, after all," he said, after a moment. "I'm glad the pup's got you in his life."

Rin flushed. "So am I."

Pakkun gave her the doggy approximation of a smile, all jowls and teeth, but then he suddenly turned his head and went rigid in her arms. "They stopped moving."

Of course, if we can sense him, he might also be able to sense us, Sanbi whispered.

Rin's heart leapt. "How much further?"

"Two more miles, but –" Pakkun's eyes shuttered, and Rin's stomach did a nervous flip, "– I smell blood. Kakashi's blood. Too much of it."

Contrary to popular belief, time doesn't actually stop after such announcements are made. If anything, it only seems to speed up.

Rin's vision blurred with helpless tears and something else, something red and angry, something not her. The burn of sanbi's chakra barely registered. Pakkun glanced up at her and yelped, but Rin barely noticed.

There was only the enemy ahead, and the threat of losing her closest friend.

She thought of Obito's smile, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Sanbi grinned.

Today was a slow day for Kushina. She had actually slept until ten, something she hadn't done for years, and then spent another two hours waddling around the house in her pajamas. It was delightful. She could chat to little Naruto to her heart's content without anyone calling her crazy, and without invoking that adorable but aggravating little smile Minato would always give her.

(She had also had ramen for breakfast. That would remain a little secret between her and the baby.)

Still, the house sure was quiet without Minato or the kids. A little bit dull, really. "You can't come soon enough, buddy," she told her belly. It would be good to have a little tyke around the house to occupy her time and generally be delightful. Missions were far and few between for her, anyway.

Life was starting to get a little bit boring, truth be told.

Well – if Kushina didn't count the drama Minato's little students underwent at far too regular intervals. They could do with a little bit of boredom in their lives. Some good old-fashioned monotony. Time in which to dust the windowsills or have awkward dates or whatever it was teenagers did these days.

If anyone could ever persuade Kakashi of the existence of romance, anyway. Kushina wondered whether he had opened Jiraiya's gift yet. Make-out Paradise, really? Perhaps that was the wrong kind of educational reading.

Kushina sighed. Her own windowsills were looking rather grimy. What an occupation for a kickass Shinobi. "The sacrifices I make for you," she told her belly, unsure whether she was addressing Naruto or Kurama. Demon, baby… What was the difference, anyway?

There's a difference, Kurama growled.

Kushina almost dropped her cup. "Damn! Warn a girl first, would you?"

It was hardly the first time Kurama had surprised her over the past couple of weeks. The further her pregnancy progressed, the closer to the surface he seemed to rise. Mito had warned her, of course – but it didn't make it any less unnerving. The hair on the back of her arms was standing upright.

Kurama grinned. You wouldn't like it if I did.

Kushina snorted. I don't like anything you do.

Such a rude little girl, Kurama tutted. The one from yesterday has better manners.

"Don't even think about her. Rin is off-limits." Kushina put her cup down with slightly more force than necessary.

She's a jinchuuriki. It's not like we can avoid her.

"We? Who said anything about we? It's your furry little paws I don't want anywhere near her."

Sure thing. Anyway, she seems to be taking care of the problem for us.

Kushina froze. Kurama sounded smug. That was bad. "What do you mean?" She asked, a little wary of the answer.

I will tell you if you ask nicely.

"Oh, you overgrown – what do you mean, O illustrious one?"

More smugness. Kurama practically radiated it. It seems my little brother left the village this morning. They're getting further away every minute. Are you yearning for boredom yet?

"Oh, shit."

AN:

Short but sweet, I hope. I'm having so much fun with jinchuuriki world building here.

Anyway, as you can see we'll have a battle next chapter – hence why I cut the chapter off a little short. I'd rather do the whole thing in one chapter, with proper pacing, than awkwardly space it over several chapters instead.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, I posted a AU of this AU under the name "Other Ghosts". It's a bittersweet KakaRin story that will also give you a few hints as to where this one is going...

Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!