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"Yamato STOP!"
It was no use. No matter what Kakashi said, nothing would get through Yamato's controlled mind. And now he was here, running for his life, attempting to find a way to get through Yamato. Of course, the day hadn't been all this bad. As he recalled, him and Yamato had been sent on a surveillance mission to get input on the enemies' plan against the Hidden Leaf Village. They had managed to find the whereabouts of the team in a distant cave and cautiously made their way in. They both hid against several sturdy boulders and listened to the conversations below. With the important intel at hand, Kakashi made sure to briefly write it in a scroll. He quietly summoned Packun, whom grabbed the scroll and made his way to the Hidden leaf in request for reinforcements to their location.
With the message sent, both men silently nodded to each other agreeing to make their way back out of the cave. However as they turned, they didn't account for a snake slithering between them, right in their blind spot. Yamato in turn jumped back, lost his balance, and slipped down the boulder. He landed on the hard ground, suddenly aware of the dire situation he was in as the ninjas surrounded him. Just as Kakashi was about to spring into action, one of the ninjas outstretched a hand towards Yamato and chanted a spell. A green light glowed around Yamato and he struggled to resist the jutsu cast upon him.
"You will now forget all you've ever known. You belong with us. Help us defeat the Hidden leaf, along with all its followers! Starting with HIM!", the ninja yelled as he pointed up to Kakashi.
Kakashi stared in horror. As he looked into Yamato's gaze, those beautiful almond shaped pupils no longer existed. In their place, empty orbs of black stared right back at him lifelessly. Mind control. His partner had fallen to the effects of a mind control jutsu, erasing all prior memories of himself and those he cared about. Kakashi remained frozen in place, blood freezing and unable to comprehend what had just happened before him. The only thing that broke him from his frozen state was the sudden swift of air and swing of a sword towards his face. Using his reflexes, he dodged back and ran towards the exit. His mind felt hazy as all he could hear were the familiar footsteps behind him and the sound of evil laughter fading in the background.
Hence, he had made it here. Jumping from tree branch to branch in an attempt to lose Yamato and ambush him somehow. Reasoning with him had been useless, but there had to be a way to get through to him.
He gracefully made his way to the ground and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. As he struggled to take in some oxygen, he attempted to regain his focus towards his surroundings. In a situation like this, it seemed best to use his Sharingan, after all, he needed any alternative to pinpoint and avoid harming his partner in any way. Opening his left eye, the dark ruby pupil scanned the area in great detail. He listened. Listened to the wind rustling the leaves around him, listened to the occasional 'whooing' of the owls nested above him, listened to the sudden slashing of a sword to his right. His Sharingan detected the uncontrolled anbu in an instant. Retreating his own sword, the sound of a 'CLANG' echoed throughout the forest as both swords collided.
In an instant, the silent forest turned into a clashing atmosphere with friends battling for their lives. Kakashi ground his teeth as he avoided Yamato's direct attacks with the help of the Sharingan. He suddenly backflipped and used his feet to spring from a tree, allowing him to fly over Yamato. Using that opportunity, he shot several shuriken from his hands down towards Yamato, effectively pinning him to the ground through his clothes.
Landing on the ground, Kakashi walked towards his partner who was currently struggling to break free. He settled his knees on the floor next to him and firmly grabbed his face with both hands, forcing his lost comrade to look at him.
"Yamato look at me, it's ME Kakashi! Please I'm here to help you!"
"No, you're NOT! You're nobody to me! M-MUST KILL YOU!"
For the first time in his life, Kakashi felt a loss of hope. Felt as if his long lost friend and partner was lost forever, lost in the false memories he was buried within.
"Please listen to me Tenzo!"
At the sound of his true name, the name that was granted to him when his life flourished from the darkness of the Root, he stopped struggling and looked into Kakashi's eyes.
"Kakashi?"
"That's it Tenzo, it's me Kakashi".
Kakashi gently helped him up, removing the shuriken from his mangled clothes. He looked into those dark orbs staring back at him in curiosity. Slowly raising a hand, Yamato intertwined it with Kakashi's fingers, still cupped to his face.
In a moment of vulnerability, Kakashi failed to follow ninja rule number one; never lower your guard. In an instant, Yamato managed to headbutt him, sending him toppling backwards. Before he regained his senses and vision, the ninja above him kicked him straight onto a tree. He grunted as his body ached and nose bled from the sheer impact of the blows from the other man. He had no sense of his limbs before realizing that his arms were pinned over his head by one strong arm.
His vision clouded, breath hitching as he struggled against the bond above him.
"You shall pay for your actions!", Yamato threatened as he pointed his sword right over Kakashi's chest.
"Tenzo...just know that I love you".
Using all the strength he had left, Kakashi slid one of his hands away from the tight grasp, swiftly lowered his mask, and enclosed the distance between themselves. Their lips collided in a sweet and gentle kiss. Upon that moment, something inside Yamato seemed to spark. His conscious inside him recognized the sound of Kakashi's voice, the feeling of his lips, the love that existed between them. All he needed to do was break free. Break free of whatever force was denying him to those familiar sensations, those familiar memories of the man he loved most.
"Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi...", he repeated in agony trying his hardest to break free. With every will power that could possibly exist in his controlled mind, he endured until he felt a ping of white light around him. The next second, he was standing in front of Kakashi. As he adjusted his vision, though, he sensed that something was wrong. The lips that were connected to his felt the same, but something was different. He felt the taste of iron in his mouth, which could only mean...
He instantly separated himself from his partner and gasped in horror as he took in the sight before him. There stood Kakashi, head bowed down in an attempt to hide his weakened state. The only thing keeping him standing was the firm hold that Yamato had of his other hand high above him.
"Don't let me...go", Kakashi weakly added.
Yamato didn't understand the request until he peeked down Kakashi's body. His breath hitched and pupils widened in horror as Kakashi's chest slowly bled from the deep impact of the sword, a sword that he was holding. He realized that Kakashi had purposefully stabbed himself in an attempt to reach Yamato.
"K-Kakashi...what have I done?"
How would Yamato be able to live with himself now? Knowing that this was happening all because of him. Regaining his composure, he focused on what was happening in the present.
"Bear with me Senpai", he reassured. Looking away, he slowly pulled the sword from Kakashi. His hands shook as he heard his partner groan in pain. He carefully set him down and ripped his own shirt to use as a wrapping around his chest.
"L-let me Yamato", he suggested as he weakly rose his own hand to his chest and summoned the Chidori to quickly stitch himself up. With the bleeding controlled, Yamato lifted his captain into his arms and ran throughout the forest. He recalled having passed by an abandoned village earlier, so maybe that could create a temporary shelter for now, away from the danger.
Some time passed before Yamato made out the familiar buildings and chose the sturdiest one to enter. There wasn't much left in the building. Just a few pieces of furniture and some empty rooms. Searching the rooms, he spotted what he supposed was the bathroom. There lay a large empty tub by the wall. That would have to do for now.
"I'm going to put you down, okay Kakashi?"
He really didn't expect much of an answer, not by the way Kakashi was looking in his rough state. As gentle as one is carrying a baby, Yamato settled the injured man into the tub. He would have never wanted to imagine looking at his captain like this. With sorrowful eyes, he observed the bruises and blood over his damaged face, mask no longer covering him. His clothes had filled with blood from the slowly dripping wound. Kakashi's eyes were closed, facial expression calm as he let out slow deep breaths. He was sleeping, resting from the wounds Yamato had inflicted upon him.
Yamato felt sheer guilt at hurting the person he cared about the most. And so he sat there. Sat beside Kakashi, guarding him from any more harm.
He didn't realize he had half fallen asleep until he sensed the slightest stir from Kakashi.
"I take it that I finally won you back?"
Of course leave it up to Kakashi to make even the most life threatening situation unserious.
"Please Kakashi, rest up".
"Am I that bad in shape?"
"The blade nearly missed your heart, but I suspect it punctured a rib. Other than that, you have minor bruises throughout your body".
"Hmm, interesting to know that even under your altered state, you wouldn't come to kill me".
Yamato hadn't thought about that in all honesty. Maybe somewhere inside of him all along, a part of him refused to fatally harm Kakashi. Maybe his sense of self control hadn't been fully lacking. Nonetheless, he was happy that things didn't turn out worse than they did.
"I'll go get you some water", he replied as he stood and made his way towards a well he had spotted out in the entrance.
He returned with a bucket of water and poured some of its contents into a wood cup he formed using his wood-style jutsu. Delicately, he tilted it towards Kakashi's lips allowing him to drink the fresh liquid.
"Packun should have sent the message to the Hokage. By nightfall, expect an Anbu squad to attack their headquarters", the Copy Ninja informed.
"Noted. You should rest in the meantime".
Kakashi faintly smiled at him before closing his eyes once more. Yamato made sure to stand on guard by the door for the next several hours. He sat on a tree trunk and looked toward the sky. Judging from the sun's position, he could only assume it was just past noon. So much had gone on during the day with so little time having gone by.
Looking back down, he stared into the hands that had done more harm than good today. He reflected upon the many wonders that he could create with them, as well. His mind suddenly came to a halt. Realizing the potential of his powers, he headed back towards the sleeping ninja and bent in front of the bathtub.
"I hope this works", he whispered as he planted both hands on Kakashi's chest and transmitted some of his power into Kakashi's body.
Just as he had the power to create wonders of nature, Yamato hoped that the same energy could be used to rejuvenate one's body. After all, it was his jutsu that allowed him to heal in fast recovery after sustaining damage himself. He closed his eyes and focused the power inside Kakashi, sending it towards his cells, tissues, muscles in an effort to promote the healing process. He was no medical ninja, but he hoped that his special technique would work.
He could visualize everything, could visualize every molecule in Kakashi's body work in harmony. In short time, the wounds over the injured body seemed to fade, not completely of course, but to some extent. Reaching his limit on his ability to form this new technique, he removed his hands from the body below him. He sighed, amazed at his own potential and towards the realization that he made it up to Kakashi.
Kakashi stirred awake, confused from the sensation that he had felt throughout his body. "Tenzo, what was that?"
"Something I've never tried before. But it seemed to work", he noted as he looked down Kakashi's body. The Copy Ninja followed his gaze and realized he wasn't in so much pain as he was in before.
"Whatever it was, show me back home". It was easy to assume they were going back home as they recognized the handful of familiar, friendly chakras around their perimeter, most likely heading towards their earlier destination.
"Will do, but you should still limit your mobility. I haven't fully healed you to the max".
Kakashi looked up at him with endearment. Yamato was truly full of wonders both inside and out. He'd truly give his life for him any day.
"And Kakashi", he said as he made grab for Kakashi's hand.
"Hmm?"
"I love you too". He truly had remembered the most important details of their earlier encounter. Those memories were worth gaining back.
Kakashi watched with love-stricken eyes as those sweet lips kissed the back of his hand. His gaze then followed Yamato as he stood and headed for the door, ready to meet the rest of the crew.