Chapter Three: Old Bonds

Lightning flashed, temporarily illuminating the bare features of the room. Rumbling thunder followed mere seconds later, indicating that a storm was rapidly approaching them. Unlike the other children who quietly cried out in fear, as a lightning user himself, Kakashi was hardly scared of the angry weather.

That didn't make sleep come any easier for him though. All night long, Kakashi found himself turning and tossing on his side, still completely wide-awake and acute to everything that was happening around him. Eventually he settled down on his left side, granting him a perfect view of the empty bed next to him.

Kakashi stared at the empty bed. Five days ago, a small kid used to occupy that bed. Although he appeared to be meek and feeble, the kid had shown massive potential for shinobi arts as he seemed to have a knack for mastering genjutsus quickly. Despite having been Kakashi's bedmate for over a year now – the longest familiar face that he had – Kakashi never learned his name.

And he would never have the opportunity to learn his name.

A couple days worth of absences wasn't exactly uncommon among them, but the more days that piled up, the more likely that the owner was never returning to reclaim their bedspace. Some of them left because they were drafted into Danzo's Root organization as an official soldier, while others lost their lives in the process of getting there.

Two days ago when Kakashi returned to his bed to see that the kid's mattress had been completely stripped bare and replaced with new sheets, Kakashi knew what happened to him.

He was dead. And soon enough, there would be another kid to occupy the exact spot. Just another unfamiliar face in a sea of kids that Kakashi trained with everyday.

Kakashi never bothered getting close to anyone. What was the point of getting attached when they would all leave anyways?

One day, it would be his turn to leave too. At eight years old, Kakashi was approaching that age when his leaders started to train him harder and pushed him to learn more complex jutsus. If Kakashi survived until then, he would be pulled into the Root organization at ten years old.

Very few children possessed the tenacity to survive until then.

Kakashi was right. By the time he returned from his grueling morning training the next day, there was a young boy sitting on the previously vacant bed. His wide, innocent brown eyes followed Kakashi's every movement as Kakashi bent down to fish out the weapons stash underneath his bed.

Neither of them spoke. The only sounds that could be heard was the noise of Kakashi sharpening all of his weapons and blades in preparation for his afternoon duel.

The new kid…well he was annoying. For some reason, he seemed intent on sticking around Kakashi, like his instincts told him that latching onto him meant greater chances of survival. The kid wasn't wrong considering how long Kakashi had stuck around. There were probably only five or six of them who lasted more than three years, and at least three of them were only one year away to their promotion.

Kakashi still had two more years to go. And maybe the combination of their beds being located right next to each other and Kakashi appearing to be around his age made Kakashi the perfect target to approach.

However, the kid never said a word. He followed Kakashi wherever he went. At lunch on his first day, the kid mimicked exactly what Kakashi did. Piled on the same exact foods onto his tray, with the same portions. Sat down right next to Kakashi in the cafeteria. He even attempted to scarf down food at the same speed Kakashi ate and choked in the process. If not for Kakashi, the kid would have died on his first day.

The cause? Choking on rice.

From that point forward, the kid learned his lesson to not copy everything Kakashi did. Still, it was extremely annoying to have a shadow follow him practically everywhere. The kid even followed him to training, to the training fields that were designed to allow the older kids to practice their jutsus.

Kakashi couldn't count the number of times the kid almost got singed by a fire jutsu or almost electrocuted. At some point, the kid bore the brunt of a water jutsu, the waves strong enough to knock him off of his feet.

Still, that experience wasn't enough to deter the kid from following Kakashi to training. Kakashi simply ignored him and pretended like he didn't exist. If he wasn't quick enough to dodge his jutsus, then that wasn't Kakashi's problem.

After the first week, the kid had finally taken initiative. Instead of merely watching Kakashi train, he showed up to the training grounds with two kunais and two shurikens. Standing off to the sidelines, he began to practice his target throw.

His aim was atrocious. For the better part of the hour, Kakashi couldn't even focus on his own training because his attention was drawn to how there could be someone who threw shuriken so poorly. Missing the target was already bad enough, but completely missing the wooden stump altogether?

It felt like Kakashi was back at the Academy again, grumbling in annoyance as he waited his turn behind the long line of incompetent five year olds.

The kid's horrible aim genuinely surprised him. All of the Root recruits usually had some sort of clan background and even if not, most kids came in with proficiency in the very basics. There had never been someone who knew absolutely nothing.

But then again, Kakashi never paid much attention to the other kids. He was too wrapped up in his own training, in his own world, to notice much around him. Kakashi wished he could say the same about this kid, but unfortunately, he found his eyes drifting back to the kid's target practice every so often.

Maybe Danzo saw that the kid had a knack for learning. If that was the case, even if he started from scratch, the kid would catch up to the rest of his peers in no time. Unfortunately, three hours later, the kid was still throwing at the same horrid level that he started out this morning.

Kakashi had enough. He couldn't stand witnessing this monstrosity any longer, so he found himself marching over to the younger kid.

"Hey." The kid turned around to look at him, eyes wide and blinking twice in quick succession as if he thought it was a fever dream. If Kakashi was in his shoes, he would think it was too. His life would be much simpler too, if this sad excuse of target practice was just a nightmare.

"From the way that you're throwing the shurikens, you could practice for five years and you'll still never make your target. Did no one teach you how to hold it?"

The kid shook his head.

Kakashi sighed, resigning himself to teach the kid how to properly throw a shuriken. If anything were to happen due to his incompetency, no one could say Kakashi didn't try to teach him how to protect himself.

"Okay, look…" Kakashi trailed off, realizing he didn't know the kid's name. It was a nuisance to keep referring to him by that too. "What's your name?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know. I don't remember anything…"

Kakashi waved off his explanation. It wasn't important and listening to it meant wasting more of his time. He was already cutting into his precious training time to teach him. "Whatever, I'll just call you Tenzo. Anyways, when you're trying to throw a shuriken, you need to hold it properly otherwise no matter how you throw it, the result will always be the same."

Fishing out a shuriken from his weapons pouch, Kakashi demonstrated the proper grip. Once Tenzo nodded in understanding, Kakashi moved on to instruct him how to toss it, showing him the movement in slow motion while giving him pointers. Once Kakashi finished, Tenzo tried to mimic Kakashi's actions.

For the first time, the shuriken hit its target. Although it hit the outermost ring of the target, from examining Tenzo's form, Kakashi knew that he would master it quickly with a bit of practice.

Maybe that was his secret skill. A pro at copying.

Kakashi had swore that he was only going to help Tenzo once. However, from the moment he extended a helping hand with shuriken training, Kakashi found himself roped into teaching the kid more and more stuff. Luckily, Tenzo was a pretty fast learner, soaking up all of the information that Kakashi had thrown his way like a sponge. Unluckily, that meant Tenzo was always eager to keep learning more and somehow kept weaseling more knowledge from Kakashi even when he felt like he didn't have anything left to teach.

It wasn't until a year of training Tenzo did Kakashi finally realize why Danzo had taken in a kid who knew absolutely nothing. A kid who couldn't even hold a shuriken properly. A kid who didn't even know how to read or write. A kid, despite being six years old, only had memories of one year of his life.

Tenzo possessed a rare kekkei genkai. Wood style, a combination of earth and water ninjutsus. A jutsu that no one was capable of using besides the First Hokage. And now, Kakashi was witnessing a six year old replicating that powerful jutsu.

Of course, Tenzo's mastery of Wood style was a far cry from the Shodaime's technique. In fact, the first time Tenzo used it, he had accidentally sprouted a tiny tree in the middle of the training field. Tenzo wasn't even aware of what he had done; Kakashi was the one who explained to him what jutsu he possessed.

And naturally Tenzo's response was, "Can you train me how to use it?"

"No." Tenzo's smile immediately fell. "Mastery of a kekkei genkai is something that you will need to teach yourself. Usually, clan members will teach the next generation how to use their kekkei genkai, but seeing the only person known to have mastered the technique is dead, you'll have to learn it yourself. I can only explain the theory to you, whether or not you can do it is up to you."

Now that Kakashi thought about it, it wasn't that far fetched Tenzo had Senju blood flowing through him. While the clan itself mostly died out, there were still a few Senju clan members that scattered after the founding of Konoha. If one of the legendary Sannin was a Senju, then why couldn't Tenzo be a Senju offspring?

Huh. But if he was a Senju, why erase his memories? Erasing his memories was more detrimental to his progress since whatever his parents taught him about the kekkei genkai was long forgotten.

And if Tenzo was here…well that was a good indication that his parents were gone too.

Kakashi let out a mirthless chuckle. What luck that the one kid he took under his wing happened to be a Senju descendent. As if his high profile skill set didn't already paint enough of a target on his back, associating with a Wood style user certainly made it ten times worse.

Just his luck.

Three days before Kakashi turned ten years old, Kakashi showed Tenzo his secret hideout. Judging from the fact that Tenzo was approaching his second year as a Root recruit, it was likely that he was here to stay. In these two years of training, Kakashi taught him everything that he could, so at the very least, Tenzo should be more well-equipped for survival than some of the others.

And in just a couple of days, Kakashi would no longer have a use for the secret hideout. Who else to pass it on to if not his protege?

Unbeknownst to Tenzo, Kakashi's hidden hideout was located in the very training ground that they frequented everyday. It was a bit deeper into the forest than they usually ventured, so close to the boundaries of the training grounds that they could spot the electric wired fence even through the thick shrubbery. Four years ago, Kakashi marked the entrance with a deep cut into the trunk of a nearby tree. The years healed the fresh nick in the bark, converting it to nothing more than a faint marking, easily missed if one didn't know where to look.

However, the intensity of his lightning-charged kunai seemed to have affected the regrowth of the bark; the wound would never be completely healed. Over the years, the faint indentation served as a perfect marker for his hideout entrance; obscure enough to not be noticeable, yet obvious enough that it was man-made.

For the future, that mark would be useful for Tenzo to navigate to the hideout. This was the first and last time Kakashi would lead him here.

Starting from the base of the tree trunk, Kakashi began to pound his fist against the ground. He beckoned the younger boy over, gesturing for him to listen to the noises that rumbled beneath his fist. Kakashi repeated the act, moving in a straight line away from the tree until his knocking produced a hollow noise.

"Did you hear it clearly?" Tenzo nodded, but Kakashi decided to knock again just to make sure Tenzo would recognize it. He didn't know yet that Kakashi was leaving soon; of course, he wasn't taking it seriously.

Tenzo probably thought that Kakashi would still be here next time.

Kakashi wouldn't.

Once he was satisfied that Tenzo committed the sound to memory, his fingertips began to feel for the edge, where the two patches of grass didn't quite connect. Due to months of disuse, the line of separation became more difficult to pinpoint. In his absence, real grass began to encroach on the entrance and when Kakashi peeled off the fake layer of grass, he noticed that even weeds managed to sprout between the wooden floorboards.

Kakashi lifted the wooden trap door, a noisy creak piercing the air. He gestured for Tenzo to head inside. The boy did, without even questioning it or even exhibiting a single ounce of wariness. Kakashi shook his head – Tenzo's trusting nature was bound to get him in trouble one day – while he descended into the tunnel with him.

"What is this place?"

"My secret hideout," Kakashi said, taking a seat onto the compact floor. Although the tunnel was small, the two of them could comfortably fit into the space. The only nuisance was that Kakashi had grown to be too tall to comfortably stand upright; the excessive hunching was making his back ache.

"I dug this tunnel when I was six," Kakashi explained. "Whenever I want to be alone, I come here to meditate. I'm no longer going to be able to use this place, so I figured that I would pass it onto you."

Even in the dim lighting, Kakashi could make out the confusion that morphed on Tenzo's face. "What do you mean you won't be using this place anymore?"

"I'm leaving."

"You're leaving?" Tenzo echoed incredulously. "Why?"

"I'll be turning ten in a few days, Tenzo. Most of the children become official Root operatives once they hit their tenth birthday. I don't expect that it'll be any different for me."

"I didn't realize it would be this soon." His voice dropped to a mere whisper, yet the tunnel effect amplified the volume of his voice by ricocheting the echoes off of the dirt-packed walls. "Will I ever get to see you again?"

That was a question that Kakashi didn't know the answer to. The idea of becoming an official Root operative always loomed in his future, yet even he didn't know what to expect out of it. All that Kakashi knew was that those who left never returned back to their base; either they didn't have a reason to or they were dead.

His cynical nature concluded that most of them were probably dead. Surviving in the Anbu Root was no easy feat, there was a reason why the group was touted to have less than fifty percent of the members made up of shinobis who possessed more than two years of experience.

Would Kakashi end up being part of the majority who died in battle? Kakashi hoped not, but from the day that he swore allegiance to Konoha and accepted his hitai-ite, the mental preparation was already there.

The mental preparation for the possibility of death.

"I don't know," Kakashi confessed. His eyes softened upon seeing Tenzo's crestfallen expression. Although Kakashi would never admit it, the annoying kid had grown on him to the point where Kakashi even dared to say he cared for his well-being. "If you ever miss me, you can write letters to me and leave them in this hideout. I'll come collect them whenever I have time."

Tenzo nodded, accepting his proposal. His disappointed features made it clear that it wasn't what Tenzo wanted, but neither of them had a choice in the matter. When the time came, Kakashi was to be promoted.

"Train hard, alright?" Kakashi clamped a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Don't forget everything that I taught you. As long as you master control over your kekkei genkai, you should be pulled into the official Root force. When that happens, you'll be able to see me again."

Kakashi wasn't the type of person to give anyone false hope but seeing the determined smile that shone on Tenzo's face helped to ease some of the guilt of lying to him. At least his final memory of Tenzo would be a fond one.

Three years…that was a long time for anyone to survive, regardless of if he possessed the kekkei genkai or not.

"Hai senpai!"

Three days later, just as abruptly as Tenzo entered into his life two years ago, Kakashi left his. By the time the sun rose, all that was left behind was an empty bed with the faintest trail of his chakra signature.

The only place that Kakashi could think of to retreat to was the secret hideout that he shared with Tenzo. Remnants of dried blood still clung to his hands. Each glance down at his hands served as a catalyst to send his brain into a frantic state as the bloody, hazy scenes flashed through his mind. Brain still too hung up from the adrenaline, the explosive feeling that coursed through every fiber of his being from the high associated with the taste of freedom, it never crossed his mind that Kakashi was walking into enemy territory.

No. Kakashi was only concerned about the prospect of returning to his safe haven, his solace.

It wasn't until Kakashi's bloody fingers dug to lift the makeshift tarp to reveal the trap door did it finally dawn on him that this place was no longer his home. The very place that he used to seek solace from belonged to someone else now.

His fingers brushed against the fresh wood of the door. Having gotten used to dealing with the rotting and almost falling apart structure for years, Kakashi was expecting to return to the door being completely caved in. Expecting to return to the hideout having been abandoned and forgotten.

He did not expect the hideout had been remodeled.

The trap door wasn't the only thing that was replaced. Previously where there had been sloppily dug holes in the wall to function as makeshift steps, wooden rungs were intact to lead Kakashi down into the tunnel. When his feet touched the wooden flooring, Kakashi was practically in awe at how much larger the hideout had expanded.

It was two times bigger than the last time Kakashi had seen it. The structure was completely fortified with wooden slabs on all sides. Not a single speck of dirt was seen anywhere in the tunnel. The corner of Kakashi's lips tilted upwards as pride swelled through him – the kid had managed to master his wood jutsu after all.

Mastered it so well that Tenzo was able to utilize it to construct two chairs in the middle of the tunnel, separated by a small table. Kakashi took a seat on one of those chairs, wobbling the seat back and forth to test its sturdiness.

Tenzo's creation didn't disappoint.

Once he was satisfied that the chair wasn't going to buckle underneath his weight, Kakashi's gaze fell onto the small wooden box placed in the center of the table. Kakashi removed the box from its position, the nail of his thumb flipping open the latch. Lifting the lid, Kakashi was greeted with the sight of dozens of pieces of paper folded neatly into tiny squares.

The hastily scrawled numbers written on the backside of the papers gave Kakashi an indication of what order to read the notes. Completely turning the box upside down, Kakashi shook the box. The tiny pieces tumbled onto the table, a few even threatening to flutter onto the ground if Kakashi hadn't caught those in time.

Spotting the folded note labeled with a one, Kakashi picked it up and unfurled the folded note. And then Kakashi began to read, if only to keep his mind off of the bloodbath that occurred a few days ago. Unfortunately, even this distraction wasn't enough to keep his arms from shaking as Kakashi unfurled the notes one by one.

Senpai,

The first week was so strange without you. Training by myself in the forest felt so silent without the sound of your lightning jutsus cackling in the air. Don't worry though. I'm not slacking off on my training.

Tenzo.

Senpai,

A new kid took your bed today. He's kind of annoying; he won't stop following everywhere I go. Don't worry though. I didn't let him follow me to this hideout. This place will still be yours whenever you return.

Tenzo.

At this part, Kakashi let out a half-hearted chuckle. How ironic that Tenzo was going through the exact same thing Kakashi had when he first met him.

Senpai,

I made progress on my wood jutsu! I can sprout a tiny branch from the ground now. The Root leaders are quite impressed with my progress. Maybe I'll be able to join you sooner than expected. Wouldn't that be cool?

Tenzo.

Even though there were no dates written on any of the notes, Kakashi could tell from the writing that it was written not too long after Kakashi left. At that point in time, Tenzo was still far too naive to understand that joining the Root wasn't as glamorous as he imagined.

After all, the very first mission Kakashi had undertaken was set up for him to die by the end of it.

Senpai,

It's been a while since I have written to you. I have been busy with training; I think I can effectively use Wood Style jutsus now! I'm also learning how to use water and earth ninjutsu individually so I can become as strong as you. If you're reading these, please write something back so I know that you're still out there.

Tenzo.

His heart clenched at the thought of all the years Tenzo spent aimlessly and hopelessly waiting for Kakashi to respond. Maybe he thought Kakashi had forgotten about him. Kakashi didn't think that was any better than assuming he was dead. At least if he was dead, Kakashi had an excuse to not respond.

Senpai,

Since I now mastered Wood Style jutsus, I have decided to remodel the hideout. You see, I dug the tunnel a bit deeper and made it much wider so we don't have to hunch down when we're standing inside. My wood jutsu will stabilize the structure so don't worry about a cave in. I'll be busy these upcoming weeks, but I'll come back soon to finish the remodeling.

Tenzo.

Senpai,

Update. I added chairs and a table. I'm awaiting the day that we meet again.

Tenzo.

From that point forward, Kakashi sped through the rest of the notes. Like the ones before, they were simple updates on what was going on in Tenzo's life, yet the most recent ones became shorter and shorter until each of them were no longer than one sentence. Tenzo had opted to omit the greeting and closing too.

Second to last note: I heard rumors that you're still alive.

The final note: Danzo sold you out to Iwa.

And that note hit the nail on the coffin. Part of Kakashi held onto the small, delusional part of him that wanted to believe that Danzo wouldn't betray him like that. That the Iwa shinobi had been lying and everything that Kakashi had seen during the torture genjutsu was all made up. The rational part of him knew that it couldn't have been made up; no genjutsu could mimic Danzo's voice so accurately.

And no genjutsu could have known that Kakashi worked for Danzo instead of Hiruzen unless some insider knowledge was involved.

And no genjutsu would ever be strong enough to make Kakashi believe in Danzo or Konoha ever again.

This place wasn't his home. This place wasn't his safe haven. This place only served as a thobbing reminder of how stupid and naive Kakashi had once been to pledge blinding loyalty. This place only functioned as a brutal slap to the face to make him finally view Konoha with renewed clarity.

This place was living hell.

"Senpai, I can't believe you're still alive–!"

Kakashi tossed Tenzo a sharp look, one that warned him to keep his voice down. Although they were meeting in their hiding spot, there was no way of knowing where Danzo had eyes and ears. Allowing him to know that Kakashi was still alive would throw a wrench in his plans to slip under the radar.

"When I heard Danzo sold you out, I thought…" Tenzo trailed off as a choked sob wracked him. "I thought I would never see you again."

Kakashi never thought he would live this long either. "I'm not so easy to kill." Those who tried joined the pile of mangled and electrocuted bodies that Kakashi left behind on that field. Although two weeks had passed since that incident, the haunting flashes in his sleep kept it fresh on his mind. In the initial stages, the notion of him being a ruthless murderer – a monster – always crept up on him aware, seeping into his thoughts. A chilling feeling raced throughout his body, forming goosebumps all over his skin. The tingle in his arm remained persistent.

Guilt wracked him. Bile was constantly lodged at the back of his throat; one wrong thought or move and he would keel over, heaving his guts out.

Those nauseous feelings persisted…until one day all of it went away. And that was when Kakashi understood he reached the point of no return. Once he could no longer feel human empathy…that was when he truly became a monster.

"What are you going to do now?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that I can't stay here. I'll probably lie low in one of the smaller towns for a while."

"Can I go with you?" Tenzo pleaded.

"They won't let you go that easily. You wield a very powerful kekkei genkai. They won't want to give that up."

Tears pricked the corner of his brown eyes. "If they're willing to sacrifice you, then who am I in comparison? No one. I may know how to use Wood Style, but even that's not enough for me to beat you."

"I was just the right kid with the right motivation." Kakashi sighed. "It was all too easy to convince me to accept the suicide mission. It was my fault for falling into his trap." Kakashi clamped a reassuring hand down on Tenzo's shoulder, noting that their height difference wasn't so large anymore.

Both of them had grown up.

"You need to stay in Konoha. Keep honing your skills. Learn everything that you can. In Danzo's eyes, your worth is your kekkei genkai. As long as you can use Wood Style, he'll keep you around. Following me won't do you any good. Take advantage of your position. Besides, I'll need your help in the future."

"With what?"

The corner of Kakashi's lips turned up into a smirk. "You'll see."

Leaning against the wall of the dango shop, Kakashi's face was hidden behind a bingo book. To any outsider, he appeared to be enraptured by the contents of the page, yet his eyes hardly were focused on the words splattered across the page.

Why would he need to be? Who knew Sukea better than himself? There he was on the first page of Iwa's list of dangerous nins, with a hefty bounty on his head for assassinating an entire platoon of Iwa shinobis. The description of his known skills were minimal, mainly because all of the witnesses weren't alive to tell the tale.

Kakashi casually flipped to the next page while a smaller figure brushed past him. A piece of paper was pressed into the palm of his hand as Root operative Cat passed him on his way into the dango shop. While he went up to the counter to order a stick of dango, Kakashi tucked the note and bingo book safely under the flap of his raincoat. Tugging the hood securely over his head, he stepped out into the pouring rain.

Just as easily as he slipped into Konoha, Kakashi left without a single trace.

Once he put quite a bit of distance between himself and Konoha, Kakashi stopped in the middle of a clearing. Closing his eyes in concentration, Kakashi focused on detecting any other chakra signatures in his vicinity.

There was no one.

Satisfied that he was alone, Kakashi fished the note out of the small pocket on the inside of his jacket. Unfurling the note, his eyes quickly scanned the scribbled kanji.

Root operatives heading to Rain in two days. Intent: eliminate the Akatsuki.

Once Kakashi committed the intel to memory, the note was sent up into flames. Specks of hot ashes fell to the ground, the flames immediately snuffed by the raindrops.

The Akatsuki, huh? Kakashi vaguely remembered his encounter with that group, namely the insistent teenager with orange hair who somehow believed Kakashi was a good fit with their organization. Although their methods didn't and wouldn't ever align – Kakashi was a firm believer that sometimes violence was necessary to accomplish certain goals – he still admired the group for such an ambitious goal.

And if Kakashi was a different person, he might have believed in it too.

Just because Kakashi didn't harbor enough optimism to buy into their vision didn't mean he would let anyone else try to destroy it. Especially not by the likes of Danzo.

Decision made, Kakashi darted through the heavy downpour towards the highest tower in Amegakure.

A/N: Hi again!

This is one of the rare, if not the only, flashback type chapters because I couldn't pass up the chance to write about Kakashi and Tenzo's friendship. Also the beginning of this chapter is probably as wholesome as this fic will ever get haha, so I guess be prepared for angst in the future. :)

Also Cat = Tenzo. You could say he's like Kakashi's spy on Danzo.

I'm curious to know what you thought about their backstory! Thanks for reading and until next time.

-MM