Chapter Text
Kakashi…’
‘Kakashi..!’
‘Kakashi!’
—---
“Gasp!”
Kakashi jolts awake to the sound of his alarm.
Sitting up, he stares in a daze as he tries to process the dream he had.
‘But what is there to process?’
Rin was dead and so was Minato.
Everyone he’s ever cared for: Kushina, Minato, Rin, Obito, his father…
Soon, he gets up.
Walking into the kitchen, he quietly takes in the silence as the sun has yet to rise over the horizon.
He turns on the tap and begins to wash his hands in the sink.
A routine that began 2 years ago.
No matter how harshly Kakashi scrubs his hands, he cannot unsee the blood staining them despite the surroundings being pitch-black.
His eyes felt sore, dry and aching, especially his left eye.
“Friend-killer Kakashi. Konoha’s cold-blooded hunter. I want you to guard Kushina against any incidents. Kakashi, take care of Rin for me. Kakashi!”
A cool, chilling breeze brushes past, yet the cold never registers as the water continues to run.
All the promises he’s ever made weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Just as he couldn’t do anything to protect Kushina, he couldn’t protect the promise he made with Obito.
Before he had realised, the morning sun had already risen above the hills, barely parting enough clouds to show a ray of light.
Putting on his shinobi gear, he gets ready for a new day of aimless wandering.
However, that plan is immediately disrupted the moment the sound of knocking rattles from the nearby window; a messenger holding a closed scroll with an ANBU mask on.
—---
Inside the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat amongst many piles of papers at his desk, positioned before a large glass pane overlooking the entirety of Konoha.
“Lord Third,”
Kakashi greets, bowing his head and taking a knee on the wooden floorboards in silence; already dressed in ANBU gear with his mask on.
The Hokage looks up calmly before issuing an assignment.
“I have an acquaintance who needs to be escorted to the borders of Konoha. Take extreme care to ensure no harm befalls them.”
An escort mission.
Most escort missions proved to be simple and easy-going in the best circumstances.
However, as the nature of ANBU itself entails dangerous missions, there would be no such thing as an easy mission.
If things were as simple as that, maybe the situation could’ve been different.
“As you wish.”
Kakashi disappears from the Hokage’s office; the sun is now high in the sky, directly overseeing the entirety of Konoha.
The Hokage’s gaze lingers a moment longer on the spot where Kakashi had been — closing his eyes briefly and letting out a sigh — the Hokage turns back to his paperwork and picks up the brush.
—---
The first few days of the mission went surprisingly smoothly as Kakashi hid and followed the man south-west towards Suna.
In the evening of day three, the man begins to set up camp for the night as the three other members of his group search for more firewood to set up the campfire.
Kakashi watches from atop one of the nearby trees.
A sense of nostalgia begins to form as he remembers traces of the team he once had.
He can see a vision of himself sitting by the warm dancing flames as his teammates bicker with occasional laughter from the few unfunny jokes they could appreciate in such times; with war being fought across the land, they could never know peace until they either died fighting or lived to see the future built atop mountains of bloodshed and gore.
‘Nothing will change.’
Nothing can change what has already happened.
He knew this deeply, yet could never let go of his failures from the past.
Suddenly, Kakashi flares his chakra and the genjutsu bursts.
The client, now unconscious, lies on the ground a few meters away from the campfire.
‘When did this happen?’
Now aware of his surroundings, Kakashi observes the area to no avail.
Since there aren’t any traps in the immediate vicinity, he silently approaches the fallen group on the ground.
Checking for a pulse, he confirms the target is safe.
He reveals his left eye as the Sharingan begins to scan the surroundings for any chakra signatures.
However, only the traces of a genjutsu having been cast in the area were left.
It seems like the perpetrator had simply left.
‘Something’s not right.’
‘Why would they put the area under a genjutsu to ambush and not kill the client?’
Sending a wave of chakra through the ground, he detects movement from approximately 500 meters south.
They weren’t approaching nor fleeing.
Strangely, despite the feeling of a figure being 500 meters away, a strong scent of blood with no obvious traces had been getting closer ever since he released a wave of chakra.
No sounds, no change in wind direction, and nothing to cause this thing to be getting closer.
It’s not possible unless it directly passed through the foliage in the forest to reach him.
‘Spirit transformation?’
Quickly, he considers the techniques the opponent may be using to ensure no harm will befall his client as he readies himself for any ensuing battle that could cause collateral damage.
As the scent of rust and copper reaches a distance where he can keenly perceive, a smell of chlorine and alcohol assaults his senses.
‘No, then why would their chakra-’
Hands wrap around his face as a small figure in a hospital gown in the distance mouths the words, ‘ta-su-ke-te!’
—---
His world blurs into a disorientating meld of colours as he lands face-first into concrete.
A brain-splitting migraine similar to those felt during chakra exhaustion leaves him light-headed.
An emptiness he’s never felt is present across his body as the physical pain and ghastly smell of the surrounding world assault all five of his senses: the crowds and buzzing of people, the jagged gravel beneath him, the smell of disinfectant and blood, along with the 3 people standing next to him.