Chapter 45
Sasuke twitched. Naruto was screeching again, and messing up the missions. First the message to the outpost where he had dropped their message in a bloody lake (good thing the scroll had been protected by an unholy amount of seals) to one of the main outposts guarding Konoha. Then the mission after that Naruto had somehow became friends with some weird triad group who wanted to either kill or marry Kakashi?
Yeah, they hadn't been quite clear on that one.
Kakashi sensei had kicked their collective asses and tied the triad up, leaving them swinging from a farmers' house.
Then there was that whole Land of Tea bullshit, which Kakashi sensei (and an ANBU with a cat mask) had appeared out of nowhere when Sasuke and Sakura had been taken out by that Aoi bastard throwing them both off the cliff. Naruto hadn't even managed to do anything but screech as Kakashi sensei and Cat murdered Aoi. Kakashi then took a photo of it with an old camera he had and said Anko and Ibiki would love a copy.
Kakashi was bloody terrifying, but Lady Tsunade had been even worse when they got back. She had yelled at Kakashi for hours for leaving, then took his Icha Icha book he had been reading, and set it on fire right in front of him.
Kakashi had cried, sobbing about Elizabeth and Tristin. ANBU Cat had patted his back.
Then Naruto had got infected by some disease and put the hospital in lockdown, and ran away because he wanted ramen? By this point, Sasuke's curse mark was twitching like mad, writhing against his skin, pressing against the seal, and it was making both his scent mark and head pound. Now Naruto was screeching about Kakashi sensei training them. How he wanted to learn cool things. How he had proven himself. How strong he was and blah, blah, blah!
"For the love of-" Sasuke snarled. "Fine! I'll train with you if you just shut the hell up, Naruto!"
"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "I'm so ready to finally beat you, Sasuke. It's so unlike you to lose your cool!"
The curse mark was a stabbing pain now, his head throbbing, his eyes straining, but Sasuke ignored them. His blood was boiling, and somebody needed to shut this idiot up for once in his damn life.
.::.
At first the sparring match was fine. Sasuke and Naruto were a little rough, and Sakura was kind of excited to see if she could spar with one of them afterwards, but Sasuke's scent began growing nastier. Naruto's fouler. They grew more and more aggressive and it set her Alpha pup on edge.
Naruto's Alpha pup had a nasty, suppressive scent to it now.
Sasuke's Omega pup smelled sick, pained and so angry.
Naruto summoned his clones, and Sasuke's Sharingan whirled to life and he exploded most of the clones with a fireball jutsu. Then worse of all, Naruto and one of his clones began to form a blue ball of energy, and Sasuke's hand crackled with chidori. Sakura didn't manage to keep a cool head. No, not like the little voice that sounded like Izumi told her too, and the little voice that sounded like Kakashi said to stay back. No, she ran forward, crying.
Because they were about to kill each other!
.::.
"STOP IT!" Sakura screamed.
Kakashi saw the horrible realisation cross both Sasuke's and Naruto's faces as he raced in. They couldn't move in time. The baby did not appreciate the sudden rush, but he had felt both their chakras flare to life so suddenly which had got him moving. Kakashi grabbed both their wrists and threw them into the water towers.
He was supposed to speak calmly, but sadly, the hormones cut through whatever sense of calm he would have had. Sakura could have died. Sasuke could have died. Naruto could have died. All three of those fucking morons could have killed each other and broke Kakashi's heart and Izumi's and Sakura's parents.
He would have had to bring back their daughter's body like Minato had brought back Rin-
No. No. No. No. He couldn't think about that.
Rin's body. His fist in her chest. His chidori.
.::.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
Sakura froze. She had never seen Kakashi sensei so angry before. His scent had only been this aggressive once, and it was when he fought Zabuza.
"You two attacked each other with Chidori and Rasengan," Kakashi growled. "You were not taught those skills to hurt each other with! And Sakura!" He whirled round to her. "Why would you run in the middle of that? Did you want to throw yourself in the way and get taken out by two dangerous techniques!"
Kakashi's pupils were sharp, and his scent was furious. Sakura almost shivered, but paused when Kakashi's sensei's gaze landed on Sasuke. Sasuke who was smirking at Naruto, or more specificity, the hole his Rasengan had made. It was smaller than the one Sasuke had done.
"You're smirking?" Kakashi asked, his voice dull. "You're proud of yourself? See, here's what would have happened if that Chidori had gotten through Naruto's Rasengan. You would have killed him."
Sasuke's smirk fell.
"The same way goes for you too, Naruto. It would have killed Sasuke." Kakashi's eyes darkened. "Congratulations, you two would have succeeded in either killing Sakura, or each other. I've never been more disappointed in the three of you in my life."
They all flinched hard at that.
"No more missions." Kakashi stared blankly at them. "You're clearly not ready for them anymore."
"B-But the villages needs us-" Naruto said shakily.
"It doesn't need an egotistical brat, an idiot, and an overly emotional girl who didn't bother to think 'oh, running at the two energy balls of death is a bad idea! I shouldn't do it', to run missions." Kakashi crossed his arms. "You're all off the rota, and Sasuke, you're coming with me."
Sasuke glowered. "Why?"
"I think we both know why." Kakashi's eye sharpened. "We're looking at that mark of yours."
Sasuke's hand grasped his neck. "It's fine..."
"Obviously not. Move." Kakashi's eye hardened. "Pregnant or not, I will move you myself. So don't make me anymore angrier than I already am."
Izumi leapt out of the trees, panicked. "Kakashi?"
He didn't even glance at her.
"Bloody hell, that was a murderous scent," Izumi said softly, approaching. "I thought..." She glanced around, and winced. "Ah, right... I think I see now."
"Good. Sasuke, come."
Sasuke reluctantly followed.
"Naruto, Sakura, my hounds will be training you two for a bit."
The pair paled. Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and yanked him forward, moving him faster. Izumi eyed them both and shook her head.
"You three really pissed off Kakashi, huh?" Izumi frowned. "I don't think I've seen him that mad before."
"H-How do we fix it?" Naruto asked shakily.
Izumi scoffed. "Like hell I know. Like I said, I've never seen him so angry before. Guy felt it even from the other side of Konoha. He was about to leave for a mission but detoured to go buy strawberry cake, dangos and a bucket load of tea for Kakashi." Izumi paused, she could smell Bull and the others charging this way. Oh fuck, they would love to get their hands on two Alpha pups, and especially said Alpha pups who upset a pregnant Kakashi so badly. "Also, you better run. The hounds are here."
The pair squawked and bolted. Bull rushed past her, the others on his heels. The only one missing was Pakkun. Izumi followed after Kakashi. The kids would be fine. Her biggest concern was Sasuke after all.
.::.
By the time Kakashi got back to his house (the Hatake estate which still left him conflicted) there was an offering of strawberry cake, dango, and three cups of tea sitting at his dining table. Also a note from Guy saying he would kick whoever sabotaged Kakashi's youthful joy when he got back from his mission. Normally he would have smiled at that, but he wasn't in the mood.
He headed straight for the bookcase where Kushina's scrolls sat. Lord Third had given some of them to him when she died with a wink and a secretive smile. He had said how it would be a waste for them to sit and gather dust when Kushina's and Minato's student could continue his seal lessons.
Kakashi hadn't picked them up for a long time. He hadn't wanted to change their scents which at the time still had Minato's and Kushina's on them, and opening them up made him feel sick. It made him long for when he had been a kid, before his father had died, when Minato had tried to teach Kakashi for the first time about how his seals worked only for Kushina to shove Minato aside and take over. With a lot of enthusiasm. They had sat in the very study they were in now, and it had been a rare day off for his father.
Kakashi had made them all dinner.
He had been so much smaller back then. At that time he had a footstool so he could reach the counters easier. Kakashi blinked away the tears. Damned hormones.
"Right, I've been studying that curse mark ever since I got back and now I've got a few more seals to place on it." Kakashi rummage through the scrolls, but blinked. "Oh wait, I sat them aside." He went over to the study, a little embarrassed he forgot something so simple. Stupid pregnancy brain.
"I'm fine." Sasuke paced the room. "I don't need you to add anymore seals. The one you gave me already has been holding it back. It hurts, but still-"
"These new seals should calm the mark down and stop the pain." Kakashi frowned. "Which, in note of that, you shouldn't be in pain. So that means either I did something wrong, which I know I didn't because I used my sensei's notes, or your curse mark is getting worse."
"Ever since we saw Itachi," Izumi noted, scowling as she stepped inside the study. "That bastard. I wish I had gutted him."
"Well, you're determined we need a pack to help us," Sasuke sneered. "But I doubt I'd ever want Naruto's help-"
"Take it easy, Sasuke," Kakashi sighed. "You might want to go a bit easy on this whole revenge thing. It never ends well."
"Don't speak about it as if you know! You have no idea what it's like!" Sasuke glowered, and stopped pacing the room. "Maybe I should kill everyone you love most, then maybe you'll see how it feels."
"Oi-" Izumi scowled, but Kakashi brushed her off.
"It would be interesting to put to the test," Kakashi said mildly, glancing at the door towards his father's room. "But everyone you just mentioned is already dead."
Sasuke froze. "What?"
Kakashi went over to his father's door and tapped on it. "This used to be my father's room. Sadly, my father was given bad intel on a mission, and the results went badly. And in the end, I came back home to find my father dead on his floor after he had committed suicide. Before even that, my mother died on a mission, again, after being given bad intel."
A lot of his family had been given bad intel.
Sasuke stayed silent, as did Izumi.
"Then my mate and teammate died protecting me, and gave me this eye to see the world for him. A year after that my other teammate died as well." Kakashi eyed Sasuke, and smiled. "Then my sensei and his wife died after them. So my most cherished people are long gone."
He only had a small few left, but those bonds had taken a long time to build up.
"The only one I had through all that was Guy, just like you had Izumi." Kakashi softened. "I know the agony it causes, the pain and loneliness you go through. The hatred." Although his hatred had never been directed at anyone but himself. "We've been very unlucky, but we're not the worst off."
Sasuke paused, meeting his eye.
"We all found things to live for. Izumi lives for you. You live for Izumi. I live for my mate, to let him see the world through this eye." He patted his covered Sharingan. "And we have Team 7, and our friends outside of that. Don't forget. You're not alone."
Sasuke closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. "Alright." He nodded and open his eyes. "What seals are you going to put on me this time, Kakashi sensei?"
Kakashi grinned. "I've been doing a lot of studying, Sasuke. So I'm going to have a lot of fun playing with my new seals."
"Oh no."
Kakashi's grin sharpened. "Oh yes."
Izumi sweat dropped.