Unity Without Sin Chapter 37, a naruto fanfic

AUTHORS NOTE:

Hello! I am alive! Let me just preface this by saying I am SO SORRY that it took me TWO YEARS to update this fic. Lemme be real with y'all. I have had this and like four other chapters written since like 2021, but like... life happens man. I have had this story finished in my head since like 2019 but I just never had the chance to fully finish it.

Also shout out to all of you that have messaged me over the years to check in on me and those who have continued to comment on chapters begging for more. You will never understand how much all of that meant to me in my encouragement to continue writing. Thank you sososososososo much!

With the pandemic and just growing up in general, lots have changed from when I was 22 years old back in 2018! I've met my love of my life in 2020, got engaged in 2022, and got married last year in 2023. I've started and left a few jobs and I'm very happy in my current role. I've even bought and moved into my very own house last year! No more living with parents, no more overpriced apartments, and I've also gotten two cats HA. Love them to death. I've even started therapy to deal with some mental health stuff and with that, I've discovered many things about myself. But with all this stuff I ignored many of my hobbies and sadly writing suffered with it. I also let my laptop grow very outdated (I'll miss you Planet Express (yes I named my laptop that ha) we had a lovely decade together) and so writing became impossible because try writing a fic like this on your phone? It's dreadful. :( But I finally saved a bunch of spare change and money and invested in a brand-new desktop in early July and omg it's been amazing, and I've been writing so much again.

Between this story, You Never Stay, and As If Fate Would Have It PLUS a possible new story - I've been slowly tapping away and editing and writing new content over the last two months.
This story should be wrapping up soon-ish. I have four chapters written out but I don't have the conclusions and wrap up and all that jazz done yet.
You Never Stay should be picking up again hopefully around Christmas - I have one chapter written for that one so far but I'm not fully mentally prepared to work on this story full time again yet.
As If Fate Would Have It is technically a completed story, but I decided that I could do better so that story is going to be completely rewritten! The original version will be taken down once I feel I've rewrote enough to do consistent uploads for that so that will probably be around Christmas/New Year as well. :)

Okay, I'll stop rambling here and I'll let you read. If you don't remember much - please go back and read a few previous chapters to refresh yourself or even restart the story (like I had too haaaaa) and get yourself caught back up to speed!

Chapter 37

Numb was all he felt as he laid there.

He didn't know how much time had passed since the van took him away. How much time had passed since they took him away from her. He couldn't get the sound of those gunshots out of his head. It kept repeating in a vicious cycle that he unintentionally kept count of.

Bang.

He didn't know when he had stopped crying, no, sobbing. He didn't know when he stopped feeling angry. He didn't even know when the numbness consumed him.

All he knew was that she was gone.

Bang.

Dead.

They had killed her.

As if one bullet didn't do the job, they had to fire three more to make sure.

Bang.

Now Kakashi was alone again. First his father and now her. It was like the universe wanted him to suffer. It wanted him gone. Dead.

He wanted to die.

What was the point of living if his happiness was gone. The only woman he ever genuinely loved was gone. His mind flashed back to various experiences he has shared with her.

That night, it had barely been a week since that night, they had gone to the gallery opening. Sakura had looked so beautiful in that deep red dress detailed in lace. He couldn't believe how lucky he was at that moment. How lucky he was to fall in love with someone so beautiful, funny, and as smart as she was.

The first time they went hiking up in Sugi during their Christmas vacation. How she scared him and his teasing her to the point that she fell over in laughter on top of that boulder. How she had trusted him so much that she blindly had jumped off because she knew he'd catch her. He'd never let her fall.

The night they snuck out and went on what they considered their first real date. The way her face had lit up when the server at the diner sat her plate of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream in front of her. The meaningful conversations they had.

That fateful morning, he had tried to show off, run further and faster than her on the treadmills shortly after they met and before he realized he had any feelings.

All the other little moments they had shared together between those experiences. The cups of coffees, the lazy Sunday's watching trashy television, the comfortable peace that always remained between them because they didn't have to speak to communicate.

Now that was all they were. Memories. He would no longer get to create more with her. Only relive the handful he was able to create with her over the last four months.

Bang.

He closed his eyes as it started to settle in more. But then it dawned on him that if it worked out, he would be with her again soon enough. In the afterlife.

He'd be by her side again and happy when he got killed.

When Tenzo killed him.

He still didn't know why he wanted him dead. He had worked with the young man for five years now, three as an intern and two as an official employee. They had grown quite close, and he considered Tenzo a great friend. His father was immensely proud of the arduous work he did for the company.

But none of that mattered now.

He just wanted to be dead so he could see her again. He couldn't help the pained smile that came to him.

The van slowly came to a stop after a while, and he heard Hidan move out of the front as he walked around and opened the door to him. He hadn't realized how much time had passed.

"Come on, Hatake, let's get moving." Hidan grumbled at him, "Gave me a damn headache from all that hollering you did!"

Kakashi just continued to lay there unmoving. There was no energy left in him. His limbs felt so heavy. What was the point? He just closed his eyes and remained still. It didn't matter what new pain would be inflicted upon him. It simply didn't matter anymore.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be!" he snapped.

He felt the collar of his jacket get tugged and his body was yanked out of the van. He slammed onto the snow-covered pavement with a thud, a sudden sharp pain ran up his side and he hissed out in pain. His mind flickered back to when Hidan had kicked him yet again. He couldn't help the choked groan as the pain exploded through his body. The rib was broken he silently confirmed. Sakura had had three broken ribs on top of horrible bruising from their accident. He was in immense pain, but he couldn't imagine what she had gone through.

'I made her suffer so much. I'll never be able to forgive myself. I got her killed…'

"Hidan, you fucking moron. Don't rough him up anymore, that's Boss's job." the other man spoke in a deep voice as he came around the car.

"Heh, yeah, yeah. He ain't moving though, help me get him inside, Kabuto!"

The other man just groaned in what could only be annoyance. Kakashi felt them each hook an arm under his armpits and tug him up to a standing position. He ground his teeth roughly to prevent himself from making any more noise as the pain lanced through his body more from the jerking movements.

"Don't drag your feet either." Kabuto said as they began to walk.

His feet dragged slightly anyways, the movement causing more pain to spread around his body. His ribs, his gut, his face. It all throbbed with each beat of his broken heart. Kakashi managed to clear his dizzy vision enough and looked around at his surroundings. He found that they were in a nearly empty parking lot somewhere in Konoha.

'This must be the abandoned Root Headquarters…'

He was brought in through a side door and scanned the empty hall for anything that might jog his memory. They entered an elevator, and he watched as Kabuto pressed the button for the sixth floor. When they arrived at the designated floor, he was all but dragged down the hall again when they arrived at a set of mahogany double doors. Hidan reached and knocked firmly a few times.

"Enter."

Kakashi's mind went blank as he registered Tenzo's voice as the one who replied on the other side.

'It really was him. He killed my father… He killed Sakura!'

The two men opened the door and walked in to find all the lights were off and natural light from the waning morning sun flooding in. Then he saw Tenzo. He was standing behind a large desk looking away from them and out the floor to ceiling windows. The bright contrast outlined his body, and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Hidan and Kabuto guided him towards a chair and all but threw him down onto it.

Hidan fished a pair of keys out of his pocket and reached behind him and took off the cuffs. Taking his chance, he lunged forward to strike the man, but he ducked out of the way and Kabuto was already taking his own swing and his fist connected with the CEO's right cheek.

"You really piss me off!" Hidan yelled as he walked over to a shelf and pulled out a roll of duct tape, "Why struggle?! Just accept your fucking fate! Kabuto, hold him still!"

Kabuto held down his arms while Hidan duct taped his wrists to the arms of the chair. Kakashi jerked his head forward in pure defiance and slammed his forehead against Hidan's head. He wasn't going to make this easy. If he were going to die, the least he could do was piss off the people who were a part of as much as he could.

It felt good letting this anger out. It was cathartic. No amount of pain he could inflict would ever match the pain he was feeling.

"Ah, you fucking asshole!" the greasy haired man cried out as he stumbled back and then stepped to him again, striking him on the left cheek with an open palm.

He gritted his teeth as hard as he could to hold back from crying out in pain. He felt his face get hot as it started to swell from the strong punches he repeatedly received.

"Alright, enough!" Tenzo's voice rang through the office, "You two are dismissed now."

Hidan straightened up and shot him a death glare then and Kakashi responded by spitting at his feet as he walked away.

"Hey!" Hidan shouted as he turned to strike him again, but Kabuto stopped him and pushed him forward and out the doors in which they had entered.

When the doors closed, Kakashi looked up and watched as Tenzo turned away from the windows and looked at him. His expression remained blank and unmoving as he stepped around the desk and in front of him.

"Why?" Kakashi suddenly blurted out, "Why are you doing this?"

Tenzo just looked away as he thought of a reply. The man looked almost smug as a small smile played on his lips. This brought a deep burning fury within the CEO. Tenzo was so satisfied to be in this situation. To be the reason he was going to die. The reason that everyone else had died. But it still didn't answer the biggest question Kakashi has had since last summer. Why?

"If you would've just died last July like you were supposed to, we wouldn't be here right now." the brown-haired man spoke in an even tone. The earlier amusement was now gone, "But no, you had to be fucking pesky and survive. So, I had to continue to play this godforsaken role and pretend to care while I figured out another way on how to get rid of you without implicating myself."

Kakashi was rendered speechless as he gawked at the man. What the hell was he talking about? Pretend to play what role?

"When it was suggested by the board that we get you a bodyguard you have no idea how fucking annoying that was. I could've said no, but that wasn't logical. I had to play the role. Then that damned bitch came in!" he continued.

Bang.

"Shut up!" Kakashi yelled as the echoed memories of those gunshots rang in his head, "You killed my father and her!"

Tenzo just furrowed his brow then. Kakashi heard a knock at the door behind him and it opened and closed softly.

"Damn right, I did! I knew when she came in that my plans would get delayed, but then you two decided to start fucking and complicated things further!" the lawyer shot back.

"Oh, are we talking about that pink bitch?" the feminine voice spoke behind him as he heard a click of heels across the floor.

The CEO felt his heart drop at the voice. There was no way, but his mind wasn't playing tricks when the platinum blonde stepped past him and into his field of vision. He felt his eyes widen when Tenzo opened his arms, and she eagerly embraced him with a hug and kiss.

"I got here as fast as I could, Tenzy." Ino cooed as she stepped away and stood next to him.

"Tenzy?" Kakashi couldn't help but mock before giving his attention to his ex-girlfriend, "Ino… What are you doing?"

The woman faked a smile and batted her eyelashes at him. She looked really pleased to see him in this condition. Was everything he knew a lie?

"Isn't it obvious?" she spoke with excitement, "Tenzo and I are an item."

He watched Tenzo wrap a protective arm around Ino's waist as a sly smirk grew on his face. Kakashi couldn't believe this right now, but then it dawned on him.

"You're the one who's been financing him?"

Ino shimmied happily in place with a proud smile plastered on her face.

"Absolutely! We're a team, him and I. I'd say we look pretty cute together too."

He didn't know what he was feeling at that moment. Hatred? Betrayal? Fear? How could she be this evil? How could either of them be this evil? He knew he had been an ass to her when he ended things last year, but to go this low? He thought he was losing his mind at this point.

"You fucking bitch!" Kakashi barked at her before he could filter his words, "Are you really that fucking petty?! That pissed that we didn't work out?"

The gray-haired man didn't have time to react when he saw a fist fly at his face and connect perfectly against his left cheekbone. His head snapped to the right and he groaned out from the pain radiating through his head and neck. But he wasn't going to show them any further pain he was in.

He swallowed thickly before biting down on his tongue to stop any comments from escaping.

"Shut the fuck up." Tenzo spoke, voice soaked in venom.

He watched as the advisor turned and reached out and cupped Ino's cheek tenderly.

"Ino and I connected last spring. Wasn't long after you dumped her, right? You made a mistake giving up this beauty." he revealed, "We bonded and got to know each other."

Dark eyes turned back and pierced into his skull. Kakashi gnawed on the inside of his cheek to keep his mouth shut. He couldn't believe this. They had been planning this for a year? What secrets has Ino told him? What has Tenzo told her?

"We found a common enemy. Someone we both truly despised given our circumstances. So, what do two people that have a common goal do? They plot."

Kakashi strained against his restraints and tried to break free. It was useless since Hidan taped his wrists down too tight. He realized the man had forgot to tape his legs for some reason. Maybe he had forgotten when he kept pissing the fucker off. He could stand up if he wanted. Swing the chair out and around to hit them. Inflict some damage. He wasn't going to go out without a fight. He wanted to cause them pain. Leave them with some reminder that he fought to the bitter end.

But what would that accomplish? He was still taped down securely. He'd hit them and then what? He was still trapped. Weak.

'I'm useless without her…'

He didn't like where this was going.

"When daddy died and you didn't, it was a major hiccup. We figured we could fix it easily, but then Shikamaru and the board suggested private security, well, that just pissed me off."

"Me too." Ino added with a pout in her tone.

Tenzo had begun a slow pace in front of him as he revealed how the two plotted his demise. He couldn't believe this. It was like some over dramatic soap opera that he and Sakura had seen. Was it really this easy to decide that you were going to kill people and be okay with that?

"Why'd they have to send a fucking woman?" the brown-haired man spat out as he threw his hands out in exasperation, "Who sends a fucking woman to be a bodyguard?"

"Shut up." Kakashi bit back, "Sakura is… was the best of the best."

"Obviously not!" Ino piped in, almost cheering, "She's dead! The bitch is fucking dead!"

Bang.

"Don't speak about her like that!" he yelled again as the shots echoed again in his head, "She was doing her job!"

Then Tenzo laughed. A maniacal laugh that sent a shiver of fear up his spine. He'd never heard the man laugh like that before and it shocked him.

"She was doing it a little too well! She stopped Kenshi and then nearly killed Deidara! Do you know how much it costs to repair a blown-out elbow? Too much, especially when you use a private doctor. Then she blew out both of his knees the other day! She needed to be taken out so I could finally get my hands on you."

Bang.

Kakashi was seething in anger. Anger towards this man he thought he could trust. He was there when she violently interrogated Deidara. He knew the damage she had inflicted. He saw firsthand the lengths Sakura had gone to secure his safety.

From when Kenshi tried to shoot them on the street to when their car was rammed into their car. Sakura had always had a plan. She always knew what to do. He had interfered with her. He caused unnecessary delays. Sakura knew exactly how to protect him. But as what expense? She was dead now because of him.

Her loss of life was on his hands. He felt the familiar tingle edge into the tips of his fingers. He knew if he looked down now, the blood would be there.

Her blood.

Bang.

He couldn't let the remorse take over him, he replaced all pain with anger. He let that anger boil into rage.

"You were responsible for that bomb, weren't you? How'd you even find us? It was classified information that even you couldn't access!"

Tenzo crossed his arms and leaned against the front of the desk. Obviously, he had an answer based off the shit eating grin that grew.

"I was and then I got wind that you and Sakura had fled. That was fucking frustrating. I knew she reported her every action to Tsunade, and I deduced from that, that your location would be listed somewhere with her. I was right too." he said with a smug smile.

Kakashi felt his face drop at this information. What had they done to Tsunade? She wasn't a part of this. To what lengths did they go to secure his future demise?

"For the top security company in the Fire Nation, they sure were able to get hacked quickly. Especially when you bribe their janitor with a quarter million dollars." Ino added, "You should really know your investments better."

He let the information hang in the air. He tried processing everything that was being told to him. The pain was becoming too much. His throbbing head was now pounding with each beat of his frenzied heart. It was taking everything in him to hold his head up since his muscles were so pained. His ribs twitched with excruciating pain with every breath, his breathing heavy and labored from being unable to take large enough breaths to meet the needs of his heart.

"Do you really hate me that much, Ino?"

The blue-eyed woman just nodded and smiled.

"I loved you, Kakashi. I really did. I honestly wasn't in it for the money, even though that would've been amazing to have my wealth nearly triple." she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, "But, you didn't see my effort. You just wanted me as another toy and then tossed me to the side when you got bored. Do you know how much that hurts? How awful I felt in those weeks after?"

Ino turned and looked at Tenzo with a tender smile. She stepped closer to him and placed a well-manicured hand on his chest and rubbed a soothing circle before trailing her hand up and around his neck. He glanced away from the kiss and wished it didn't hurt as he attempted to roll his eyes.

"I bumped into Tenzo shortly after you left me at an event. You didn't think it was worth going to, so you sent him instead. He was so sweet. We chatted for hours over champagne, and he asked me out for dinner." she recalled the pleasant experience, "And, well, the rest is history."

Kakashi let out a shaky breath as he learned this information. What was the point of all this? He was still no closer to understanding why Tenzo, why Ino, had put him through all this pain and suffering.

"Why do you want me dead so bad? Why did you kill my father?"

Tenzo's smile fell then as he looked away from Ino and towards him. If looks could kill, the CEO knew he'd be dead in that moment.

"Don't you mean our father?"

Kakashi just blinked up at him and shook his head as if he didn't hear that right.

"What?" he asked his own question back.

Tenzo just rolled his eyes as he dropped his arms down and shoved them into his pockets. He took a half step toward him as he took what was obviously an annoyed breath that turned into a sigh.

"Obviously he never told you, he was ashamed of what he had done. I should have figured that out. Don't you find it odd that he took such a keen interest in me? He had never had an intern before, well besides you. I collaborated directly with him. A bit odd, don't you think? Especially as young as I was. Then to get a direct hire into a top position as an advisor and head of legal?" he pointed out.

Kakashi paused at that. He had been curious as to why his father had done that but brushed it off when he saw how dependable of a man he was in the company. His father had always had a knack for spotting good talent and good investments.

Shikamaru was a good example. The man was lazy as hell, but his work ethic and efficiency were top notch. The hundreds of companies they were invested in that brought in mountains of success and large returns were countless other examples. It was rare that a company they invested in failed or went under.

"Yes, I did. I trusted my father's word on you being top talent."

Tenzo let out a huff of amusement at this compliment toward the dead man.

"Let me tell you a little story. Twenty-seven years ago, our dad entered into an affair with my mother and ended up getting her pregnant after around a year or so." He revealed as he pulled his hand out and pointed a finger up to the ceiling in a swirling manner before all but singing out his next sentence, "This was around the same time your mother found out she had cancer, right?"

Anger swelled inside at the mention of his mother. He had no right to speak ill of her.

"I think she died when I was only a few months old? Well, he, our daddy, felt guilty. Guilty that he betrayed his wife and created another child with someone then grew even more guilty that she had cancer and then died without ever knowing."

Kakashi let his eyes fall from Tenzo's face and onto the floor as he found out his father was unfaithful. It was something he had admired in him. A man of such power and status had remained untouched in a world of controversy. His father was no different than him. Did he have other women after his mother died? He'd never know.

"He desperately needed my mother to stay quiet about the affair and about who was the father of that kid. He didn't want to tarnish his name or his growing investment company back then. I was too much of a risk, ironic, isn't it?"

He briefly flickered back to memories as a child and how he'd sometimes accompany his father to the small office that was the initial investment company and how hard he had worked. He remembered idolizing the man. He remembered wanting to be just like him. It turns out he nearly was.

"So, he sent her seventy thousand five hundred dollars a month from the day I was born until the day I turned eighteen. I never knew he was my father until then." Tenzo revealed the length his father took to hide his shame.

"On my eighteenth birthday right before I started university, he came to my mother's house and sat me down and told me he was my father. Told me he was going to pay for me to get a "damn good education." When he found out I had finished my undergraduate in half the time and was going to study law, he offered me a job at his company. I started interning when I was twenty and the moment I passed the bar exam at twenty-three, he hired me in."

Kakashi felt the numbness begin to consume him again. His father had kept so many things from him growing up. He thought he knew everything about that man, but he didn't. What else didn't he know? Where there other kids out there?

"It was on my first day interning, I found out I had a half-brother. When you walked into the room to meet me before a meeting, I grew so angry. Angry that you were given, no, handed, a perfect life while I had to continue to struggle and work my ass off. Granted, my school was paid for by daddy, but I had to keep top grades, or he would pull that money away."

Kakashi was seeing red again when Tenzo kept referring to his father as "daddy."

"Then you walked around like you owned the place. I fucking hated you from day one." Tenzo spat out, his tone growing angrier and angrier, "I was a mistake and was never meant to be born while you were a product of love! When I started going through old legal documents to digitize them, I found a remarkably interesting document and it gave me an amazing idea."

He looked up at Tenzo then with a curious look. He couldn't believe everything he had heard so far. How Tenzo had hated him from the start and that everything between them was a lie. How could he have been so blind?

"I found a document that our daddy had drawn up shortly after you were born all those years ago. The way he worded it gave me the perfect opportunity to finally get the resolution I needed. No deserved."

Tenzo let this information hang in the air for a moment before he continued in a sardonic voice that attempted to mimic his fathers.

"In the event of my death, either accidental or natural, every and all rights to my estates and company and all its investments will go directly to my son.""

Kakashi's eyes widened then. He had seen that exact document a couple of weeks after the accident when he was announced to be the new CEO of Hatake International. Tenzo was the one who even presented it to him during the board meetings.

"Do you know why that document is so important?" Tenzo asked passively, shooting a grin to the woman next to him, "I'm sure you do. The damn idiot didn't directly name an heir. The term "son" is very vague, but to the point. Whoever was his lawyer then was a fucking idiot, what a blatant oversight."

Tenzo released a happy sigh as he threw his hands into the air like he was thanking the Heaven's.

"This was an angry lawyer's best friend! However, there was sadly no legal documentation that I was his son at the time. Sakumo was smart and never put his name on my birth certificate. He had no legal connections to his name that could ever jeopardize his reputation."

A small giggle escaped Ino then. Like she was listening to and enjoying the climax of a drama. It was like she was getting some sense of satisfaction at his misery.

"But that was quickly fixed when he died, and we got a rather hefty blood sample." she teased.

He clenched his fist tightly at the thought. He knew exactly where that blood had come from.

"With both of you dead, I was going to come forward as the shy and timid boy who had a big secret. Sakumo Hatake was my father, and I had a blood DNA paternity test to prove it! Backdated a couple of years of course, so it didn't look like I was the one who did this horrific act after all. And, because of the wording in that nifty document, it all would've become all mine!"

Kakashi's breathing was ragged at this point, pain forgotten. Why was this happening to him? What did he do to deserve this fate? He hadn't done a thing besides survive. The money wasn't worth it in his eyes, why did Tenzo think he'd be happy with all that stuff? That causing all this pain and suffering would cure the pain and suffering that his, no, their father had caused?

"You two were only required to die, but it didn't work that way, did it?" he yelled out suddenly, the rage evident, "When Hidan and Kakuzu went to confirm your deaths, they thought you were barely alive since your face was so torn up and you were bleeding out so badly. There was so much blood! I saw the photos they took for proof of death! But, daddy, that damn man, he was just beat up from the crash! So, they dragged him out of that SUV and shot him in the heart to make extra sure."

His face screwed up in pain at the vivid description of how his father was really killed. He remembered crawling out of the SUV and finding him on the ground on the verge of death. He remembered waking up long enough in the hospital to be told his dad died. He remembered coming in and out of consciousness and being told about the autopsy. About the bullet they found. The cause of death being listed as malicious homicide.

He remembered it all.

"Kakashi… My son. Please stay safe. I'm sorry."

His last words echoed in his head. He had heard that last statement every day since then.

He didn't hold up his dad's final wish. He was going to die.

He had no one now.

Bang.

Sakura is gone now too, he thought to himself as he let his head fall forward finally letting the pain consume him again. There was no point left to live. The money wasn't worth a lonely life.

"Just kill me." the heartbroken man whispered, "Stop fucking talking and just kill me. I don't want the money. I don't care about the money, just take it."

Tenzo just hummed for a few seconds as he approached Kakashi. He watched the polished shoes his brother wore come into his half-lidded view.

"Don't worry, I'll get to it soon enough. This has been a long time coming, so I want to savor your last moments alive." he replied in an amused tone.

Kakashi looked up to him and saw the incoming fist as it connected square in his gut. He coughed out in surprise and groaned out in pain. He coughed again as he tasted bile in his mouth as it burned his throat. Before he could breathe, Tenzo laid in two more blows to his chest and stomach before slamming his fist once more into the square of his nose. HIs head snapped back from the contact, and he gritted his teeth as he heard a sickening crunch of cartilage and felt blood pour down from his nose and into his opened mouth. Tenzo had obviously broken it.

"You have no idea how good that felt." Tenzo sang happily, Ino's own giggle in the background, "I've wanted to punch that stupid look off your damn face since the day I met you."

He just let his head fall forward and watched the blood drip into his lap and absorb into his jeans. He felt his head begin throbbing from being punched so hard repeatedly. If he hadn't had a concussion before, he would have to have one now.

"It's not my fault my father was unfaithful. I wouldn't forgive him for that either." he said in between labored breaths, "But, I can help you though. You're my brother, Tenzo. If you would've told me sooner, we could've worked this out."

He felt a fistful of his hair be grabbed as it was yanked so he would look up to Tenzo. He found zero emotion on his face or in the man's eyes before his vision doubled and blurred.

"I highly doubt that."

"Your mother." Kakashi said next trying to focus hard on the man's eyes as his vision focused in just enough to see the dilated pupils, "What will your mother say about all this?"

Something flickered in his newly discovered brother's eyes then, but it was so brief he nearly missed it.

"She's dead."

Kakashi's breathing caught as he stared wide eyed at him. Well as wide as the swelling would let him.

"But… You spoke about her last week?"

"I'm a good liar, eh?" Tenzo smiled, "She died last spring. She was an alcoholic and destroyed her liver after over twenty years of hard drinking."

Before he could reply, Tenzo punched him three more times in the gut while keeping a firm grip on his hair. Kakashi gasped for air but refused to make any noise. He wasn't going to give that man the satisfaction. One of the hits hit the broken rib and he bit down on the inside of his cheek so hard he ripped through the flesh, producing more blood.

"That's why I decided to finally act! She was an alcoholic because of our father! He didn't care though. As long as mommy stayed quiet about me, he was happy! She drank because every time she looked at me, it reminded her of him! She beat me! She banished me to my room! Locked me away! She did whatever she could to avoid me!" Tenzo screamed.

Kakashi was punched another three times throughout his torso as Tenzo revealed this all to him. He felt nauseous as each blow landed. He didn't know how much more his body could take.

"Just kill me!" Kakashi screamed after a minute as he spat out a mouth full of blood.

Kakashi felt himself begin to lose consciousness from the repeated blows to his head and body. He felt his left eye close up from the swelling. The pain was becoming too much. He felt his body want to shut down from the constant barrage of attacks. He wanted to curl up and simply die at this point.

Sudden sounds coming from the hallway interrupted Tenzo from speaking. Kakashi watched him through his one good eye as he looked up at the door behind him with a surprised face. Suddenly the sound of multiple gun shots echoed outside the room.

Then a sickening silence followed.

"Tenzy." Ino whispered, fear was evident.

"What the-" Tenzo started to speak but was cut off when the door busted up and a gunshot was fired.

Tenzo managed to move in time to miss being hit and a scream came from Ino. Kakashi watched as he pulled a gun out of his jacket and pressed it against his head. He bit back another groan as the cool steel of the muzzle stabbed into his skull.

"If you move, I shoot!" Tenzo shouted, "Drop your gun!"

"Okay, just don't hurt him." she replied cautiously.

Kakashi stopped breathing as he heard her speak. His ears had to be deceiving him. This couldn't be true. He had heard the shots. He knew she had been trapped. He knew he was the reason she was dead.

Bang.

"Sakura." he whispered.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Once again thank you for reading. Please leave all thoughts and comments and reviews below! 3 You guys are the best.