Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Memory ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Agent's Spiel: This contains Spoilers all the way through the most recent arc concerning Kakashi's past through Chapter 244. I'm using some info from Chapter 238 but I'm ignoring the fact that Naruto left.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Memory

After they had left Tsunade's office the rookies separated in a daze. None could fully comprehend just what had happened that day at the river and they all felt that they were being lied to.

Sakura walked away from her friends completely numb. She couldn't understand anything that had occurred within the past few hours except for the new rules that had been put in place. She was smart enough to know that the meeting Tsunade had called was a farce to make the Gennin believe their questions had been answered. She also knew that there was something very wrong with Naruto and she couldn't help but feel it had something to do with her.

She had been so scared when that man, Kisame the Hokage had called him, had grabbed her. She hadn't even seen him move and suddenly she was yards away from her friends with a knife pressed to her throat. She knew Naruto had saved her. If he hadn't created the clones and distracted Kisame with Kiba's help she wouldn't have been able to get away and then the two were left stranded on the opposite side of the river from all of their comrades.

She had been so scared when she saw that dragon coming towards her. All she could see were flashbacks of their fight against Zabuza. She was frozen until she felt Naruto push her out of the way, even then she was so frightened that she couldn't even catch herself; how pathetic was she that she had injured her ankle so easily? She had nearly stopped breathing when the dragon had collided with Naruto. She knew there was no way he could survive the attack and the sudden realization was pounded into her. She was going to lose another teammate and this time it was completely her fault, all because she was still too pathetic, still miles behind her hyperactive blond teammate. And then that horrible charka had appeared. She had felt it before: on the bridge when Sasuke had almost died, in the Forest of Death when Orochimaru had attacked, and then finally during the Chuunin Exam finals she had realized it belonged to Naruto.

But none of that registered at that moment all she could was sit on the beach and watch the onslaught in complete horror. Then after what seemed like an eternity the attack dissipated and there was Naruto, it didn't even look like he had a scratch on him. She was about to sigh in relief when red chakra began surrounding her teammate; his features grew bestial with fangs and claws. She knew she shouldn't be afraid this was Naruto, her Naruto, the one who was always there to protect but she couldn't help it. What she was seeing wasn't like anything she had seen before; the normally absurdly innocent Naruto looked frightening; she screamed.

Her voice made Naruto spin around out of concern, but that only made it worse. Gone were the bright blue eyes that always shone with light, they had been replaced with a fearsome blood red, the pupils were slitted and the look on his face would frighten even the most battle worn Jounin. All she could do was stare in horror until Naruto's eyes widened in shock; he quickly reverted to his normal self and the red chakra dissipated. She continued staring straight to those eyes waiting for them to bleed back into blue, to look at her with concern, but they didn't and the next moment her friend had disappeared and Kisame's sword hit the ground. She saw Naruto and Kakashi reappear moments later. She knew tears were streaming down her face but she could do nothing as she watched Naruto stare at the ground. When he looked up and took a step towards her all she could see were those eyes, the eyes of a predator, and she instinctively tried to move back. The rest of the afternoon was a blur; she had barely registered a figure landing besides her to heal her ankle. She couldn't remember Kakashi carrying her over the river and telling Asuma to take her home. Her mind had been in a haze until she had arrived in Tsunade's office.

Kakashi had asked her if she was okay and that was when she had seen Naruto. She had rarely seen him without his mask, though she had learned he wore one not long after joining Team 7. He looked so lost she didn't know what to do; she took a step towards him before deciding against it and moving back.

Looking back she knew it was the wrong thing to do; she didn't know if he had seen it but if he had he would feel abandoned especially after her earlier actions. She couldn't believe how stupid she had acted earlier. She knew that it was still Naruto in front of her and plenty of ninjas had bloodline abilities that caused their eyes to change why couldn't he? Yet she had flinched away; she had abandoned him and now Naruto's mask was gone and she didn't think he would be able to replace it any time soon.

She suddenly looked up to see a full moon above her and realized just how late it was and how long she had been wandering around. Sakura turned and began to head home before she realized that her parents were still on a mission and the last thing she wanted was to go home to an empty house. It hadn't been so bad when she was still in the academy she personally felt it was because her mother hadn't done so many missions and they had fought a lot. But now…she sighed as she thought back on how often her parents had been gone. Ever since she had become a Gennin her parents had been away almost constantly apparently assuming she was now mature enough to take care of herself. She missed them, she'd never admit how much, but suddenly she could sympathize with Naruto and Sasuke a bit; she wasn't an orphan but sometimes she felt like one.

With that last depressing thought she turned around and headed to one of the few places she felt at peace. She strode casually towards the bridge, Team 7's meeting place. It had become a sanctuary, a place where she could sit and do nothing, a place where she could stay uninterrupted for hours. It was perfect for her to stay tonight since she knew that she would get no sleep.

XXXXXXXX

After receiving his mission, which started at dawn the next day much to his chagrin, he walked quickly out of Hokage Tower. Unfortunately for him the sun had already set, so he set off wondering vaguely where the day had gone. As he neared his favorite bar, Waruyoi's Sake House, he paused slightly wondering if he should get a drink.

Just as he decided not to and turned to head home he was attacked by a mysterious flying object. Oh scratch that it was just Anko. Orochimaru's psychotic apprentice came barreling into Kakashi knocking him into a wall. When he was finally able to look down it was straight into Anko's expectant face, he couldn't help but notice how similar it was to Naruto when a new mission had been announced and he was waiting for the details. After several minutes of staring at each other Kakashi finally spoke, “What do want this time Anko?”

The Narutoish Jounin grinned widely at Kakashi's question, “Where is she?”

“Where's who?” Kakashi prompted even though he knew full well that she was looking for Rin he decided to have a little fun before actually answering.

“That psychotic teammate of yours,” Anko said looking around as if expecting Rin to pop up any moment.

“I don't recall ever having a psychotic teammate are you sure you weren't looking in the mirror,” Kakashi quipped back finding that annoying Anko was fairly good stress reliever.

Anko only smiled up at him before grabbing his arm and leading him into the bar. “I'll tell you what I'll buy you a drink and you'll tell me what Rin was doing here earlier.” Kakashi shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled into the bar.

Once inside he quickly found himself pulled over to table filled with others. He and Anko joined Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, and surprisingly enough Ebisu, Iruka, Genma, and Ibiki. He had no clue why the last two were there but he was beginning to wonder how much of the meeting was a coincidence.

“Well this is an odd grouping,” he mumbled while turning to glare at Anko wondering just what she had gotten him into. True to her nature Anko grinned and nervously scratched the back of her head. He sighed and turned back to the rest of the group, “Whatever you dragged me in here for I don't have time for it.”

“Course you do,” Anko said enthusiastically, “You just got back from a mission so you have the day off.”

Kakashi could only glare at her and wave his new mission folder in front of her face, “Wrong, I leave early tomorrow morning on another one.” Anko appeared baffled and there were several confused faces at the table in front of him.

“Ah, Kakashi my rival you jest,” said the ever oblivious Gai. “All shinobi are given at least one full day to recover between missions, especially since everything has been leveling out nicely under the wonderful Tsunade-sama. You are only trying to avoid answering questions about this afternoon.”

“I have no reason to avoid answering questions about this afternoon. I do however want to get some sleep so make it quick,” said Kakashi in an abnormally irate voice. He then flopped down in a seat and looked expectantly at Gai; Anko quickly sat down opposite him before stealing the first question from Gai, “Where'd Rin go and why was she here in the first place?”

“Rin came with information on the Akatsuki; it was an unscheduled visit so she had to return home for other business,” Kakashi stated bluntly.

Anko blinked several times before muttering, “That brat didn't spar with me before she left.”

The others ignored her musings and went on with their other questions. “What was the information?” Ibiki asked.

“Well had we made it here quicker it would have actually been useful, as it was it gives future warning of unlikely attacks and we completely missed the real threat.”

The others looked slightly concerned at this. “She knew about the attack at the river,” Kurenai finally said. Apparently the real topic of discussion had been breached as everyone at the table jumped to attention.

Kakashi sighed knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out of it now that he was there. “She learned late last night that Kisame was heading this way. The minute I got there we turned back around and came straight here.”

“You must have gone straight to the attack, we were waiting for you in the Hokage's office when Lee came and told us and you were there before us,” Kurenai said.

Kakashi nodded and continued, “We weren't far away when we felt Naruto tap into the fox's chakra.” The others looked about quickly before relaxing when they found no one listening. Kakashi seemed quite amused at their antics, seeing as how nearly all adults in the village, as well as a number of people outside the village who weren't supposed to, already knew Naruto was the vessel of the Kyuubi it was pointless to hush their conversation, “We headed there in time to help but the rookies had already been holding him off for sometime.”

“From the sound of it Naruto was the one holding him off. They said he got hit with some type of water jutsu,” Asuma drawled feeling it was important that he at least appear involved in the conversation. Several months ago this information may have shocked many of those at the table. However after the events of Chuunin exams, and a good number after, Naruto was gaining a number of believers, many of them were seated at the table in front of Kakashi.

All Kakashi could do was shrug, “I don't what happened early on Naruto wouldn't say anything to us. I know Kisame used Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu. Naruto pushed Sakura out of the way but couldn't get out of the way himself. Kyuubi's chakra was automatically released as a shield.”

The others looked at him in shock before recovering. “Even with the Kyuubi's chakra, how did he take that blow?” Iruka asked in obvious concern for his favorite student.

“Well I'm sure all of you felt the surge of chakra earlier today, as I said the Kyuubi's chakra acted instinctively and protected him. I'm also assuming it instantly healed any physical damage that Naruto suffered during the attack.”

“Then all the Gennin are unharmed,” Genma stated.

Kakashi shook his head as he spoke, “No, Sakura hurt her ankle but Rin healed it most of the way, other that with the exception of Naruto everyone is fine.”

“You just said the Kyuubi healed all of Naruto's injuries,” Genma said in confusion.

“I said Naruto had no physical injuries,” Kakashi stated irritably, none of those present missed the emphasis on physical injuries. “He wouldn't acknowledge any of the other rookies when Tsunade called them in to speak with them, during the entire conversation he was curled up in a chair.” The others blinked at this new information even though several of the senseis had seen it themselves.

“What could have caused that?” Anko asked, shocked that the hyperactive kid could be that calm.

“After the jutsu was dispelled Naruto prepared to attack Kisame by gathering the Kyuubi's chakra. The physical changes it causes can be alarming if you aren't prepared. Sakura wasn't prepared and she reacted badly,” Kakashi's announcement was met by stunned silence.

That is until Iruka dropped his head into his hands and began massaging his forehead. Kurenai and Asuma gaped at each other. Gai mumbled, “The brilliance of youth is often great, but the young make mistakes that can obscure it.” Anko smacked Gai over the head for his annoying comment. Ebisu shook his head and shoved his sun-glasses farther up his nose. Genma and Ibiki could only shake their heads in disbelief.

“How high are the chances that he'll recover from something like this?” Iruka finally asked.

Kakashi looked at him for a moment before deciding it would be a bad idea to lie to the academy teacher, “Slim to none.” The others seemed confused by this announcement so Kakashi elaborated, “Under normal circumstances he may have been able to handle this. But his mask began slipping shortly after they failed to bring back Sasuke. He couldn't forgive himself for the failure and neither could the village. The townspeople's treatment of Naruto has only gotten worse because they blame him for the entire incident. He'll most likely begin to doubt everything and everyone including himself. If he manages to put his mask back up it won't take much for it to crumble.”

The others looked around sadly for a moment before turning to other subjects. They spent several hours discussing missions, their teams, the academy students, and numerous other topics. The entire time Kakashi spoke rarely and seemed absorbed in his latest mission briefing. The one time he spoke it was to growl out, “I really don't know,” when he was asked once more how he managed to get a mission this soon after he got back from his last one.

By the time Kakashi left the bar it was after one o'clock and he grudgingly realized that he wouldn't be able to get any sleep before his mission. The briefing had told him to meet the others at the gate at four, which meant he had less than three hours. Normally he would sleep whenever he could but for some reason, most likely the events that had taken place earlier, he felt restless. He knew he would pay for it later but he decided he wasn't going to take the time trying to fall asleep.

As he walked through the village trying to waste away the hours till he left he left his mind drift. The more he thought about the more he was beginning to believe there really was a conspiracy behind all the missions he was receiving. He had known for sometime that Jiraiya wasn't happy with him and he began to wonder if Tsunade had begun to share that attitude. He knew that he had let Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura down. He knew that if he could he would give anything to fix what had gone wrong. He also knew that there was nothing that he could do considering many of the decisions had not been his own. Thinking of his Team 7 sent him down a rather dangerous path, one that led straight to another Team 7.

He had been six years old when he had become a Gennin. During the war with Hidden Stone there had been no such thing as the Chuunin Exam. He had been promoted to Chuunin rank when he was eight, even though he had the skill and the rank he really didn't do anything. Every once in a while he and his sensei had been able to go on B and C Rank missions his age prevented him from performing many of the duties of Chuunin such as acting as a leader on other missions.

When he was eleven two more students had been placed under his sensei, they became Team 7. Chiyu Rin had been a lot like his own student Sakura, she was the brightest in her class and she focused much of her time towards becoming a medic-nin like her father. Uchiha Obito was a bit like Naruto; he had been one of the worst students in his class. Though he was of the Uchiha Clan he had yet to activate the sharingan, Kakashi laughed suddenly when he wondered what Naruto would do if realized that an Uchiha was his counterpart. Obito had been late for everything, when he finally arrived he would deliver his stupid excuses and every time he made a mistake he would say he had something in his eye, despite the fact that he wore goggles. He, Hatake Kakashi, had been the cold prodigy. His father had died when he was young, an incident he never spoke about. He insisted on following every rule exactly as it was written. He and Rin had been promoted a little over a year later to Jounin and Chuunin respectively.

He could still remember all of the times his sensei had stressed the need for team work. He could still remember all of the times his sensei had told him that there was more to it than rules and regulations. By the time he realized it, it was too late, and they lost Obito because of his own foolishness. He and Rin went on to become distinguished not only because they were the students of Konoha's Yellow Flash, but also because of their own strength. He knew that neither of them would ever forget the sacrifice of their friend; he could never thank Obito enough for saving him, as he grew older he felt he could at least up hold its reputation. That was about the same time that he began acting like Obito, after he had left the ANBU and lost the mask he became the Hatake Kakashi that everyone now knew.

He had failed his first Team 7. Now he had done it again, he hadn't been able to stop Sasuke either. He had failed Naruto today; he had been unable to protect him as he should have. He vaguely wondered how he would manage to fail Sakura when he suddenly took notice of his surroundings. He was nearing the bridge, Team 7's bridge. They had met there every morning during the few months that they had been together. Realizing that he still had about an hour and a half before he had to go, he decided to spend the rest of it there. He had liked the bridge and now it held many of his few good memories.

XXXXXXXX

After the meeting Naruto had followed Jiraiya out of Tsunade's office and down to the training grounds. Jiraiya had been going on and on about the new move he was going to teach him. He said it was called Togeyomi and that he had the perfect hair to perform it. They had practiced for several hours and Naruto had succeeded in getting his hair to form a shield down to his waist. Jiraiya had finally told Naruto that they worked long enough and had then walked him all the way home. Jiraiya left telling Naruto to get plenty of rest and be ready to continue training the next day. Naruto walked inside and watched from his window as Jiraiya walked back towards Hokage Tower.

After the white-haired Sennin had disappeared from view Naruto walked back outside. He knew he should be excited with the sudden attention Jiraiya was lavishing him with but he just couldn't muster the energy. He knew he was supposed to be happy; he was supposed to be boasting; he was supposed to be doing… something. He just couldn't.

He had tried for so long to pretend but for some reason he just couldn't. He knew he was in trouble; he knew that if he lost Sakura he lost everything. It had nothing to do with any type of crush he had gotten over that silly thing not long after they had become a team. He just kept pretending because it was expected, it was normal, it was him. He knew he had frightened her earlier. He had been so caught up in his anger at Kisame that he had completely disregarded her presence. He was a fool and he knew it, and now he might lose one of the last people who actually cared for him.

Naruto continued walking gaining occasional glares from the few villagers who were still out late. He hated Konoha at night. He hated imagining all of the children being tucked into bed by their loving parents. He hated the way the streetlamps blinked at him making it impossible to hide in the shadows. He hated how lonely it was.

He paused for a moment to look up at the faces of the Hokages on the mountain side. He allowed his eyes to skim over them before stopping to look at the last. Yondaime, he didn't know how to feel about him. Ever since he had learned about the Kyuubi he had been so confused. Why had he been chosen? Did Yondaime know how he would be treated? He sighed before slowly walking away.

He knew it was incredibly late but he just didn't care. Actually that seemed to be a running theme in his thoughts. He just didn't care about anything. He couldn't care about anything if Sakura wasn't there. His team had been everything. They had been his first companions, his first friends, in their own way they had acknowledged him. Sakura and Sasuke had seen if only briefly who he really was and they hadn't turned away. Sure they may not have always acted like they cared but that was because they all knew the act so well. With his team gone he would have no reason to really do anything. With that last depressing thought he turned to the one place he knew he could go where no one would glare at him. He was too apathetic to be able to sleep anyway. Naruto took off for Team 7's bridge.

XXXXXXXX

When Sakura arrived at the bridge she leaned back against the railing and gazed up at the moon. She wanted to cry. She hadn't cried since Naruto had returned, even when she learned that they hadn't brought Sasuke back. She wanted be strong for them so she hadn't cried. But now, now she was going to lose Naruto too. It was her own fault that she hadn't been strong enough to stop Sasuke and now she hadn't been strong enough to help Naruto. All she could do was watch the moon and pray her tears wouldn't come. Pray that tomorrow everything would be all right again. She could only hope that tomorrow Naruto would smile again and that she could look at him without seeing those eyes.

As Sakura was lost in her thoughts Naruto strolled up to the bridge. He was so lost in his own thoughts that his pink-haired teammate's presence didn't even register with him. He seated himself on the railing on the opposite end from her and stared down at the river and at the reflection it offered. It was as he gazed at this reflection that he saw her, his head quickly snapped up and his eyes widened as looked towards his ex-teammate. When she felt his gaze on her she looked up into his frightened eyes and her own widened in shock.

Naruto misinterpreted Sakura's reaction and quickly turned away. He gazed unblinkingly at the river below him praying she wouldn't scream. He could only hope that she would walk away and not say anything that she wouldn't flinch again. This was why he was completely shocked when he felt someone lean against the railing next him. Moving his eyes slightly he saw in the reflection that Sakura was standing next to him still gazing at the sky sadly. He glanced over at her to see a peaceful look on her face, she wasn't flinching and she didn't seem frightened by his presence. When he looked back down at the river there was a peaceful expression on his face. He wasn't smiling but his eyes weren't as empty as before, they held a small glimmer in them. There was still hope.

XXXXXXXX

Kakashi arrived at the bridge and immediately noticed that he wasn't alone. He was amazed to see Naruto and Sakura on the railing, one gazing down and the other gazing up. They weren't speaking to each other but the gentle looks on their faces said that they were okay. He walked over quietly and jumped up onto one of the cross beams above. He almost felt as if things were back to normal all they needed now was Sasuke. He would often land here and announce his presence so that Naruto and Sakura could yell at him for his stupid excuses, all given as homage to Obito.

But this meeting wasn't planned so he didn't grin and welcome them loudly; he sat down on the beam and looked out into the distance. He glanced down after a moment to see Sakura look up and smile at him for a moment before turning back away. He noticed that it wasn't a truly happy smile but that was okay with him, in fact he liked that smile it meant she wasn't hiding anything. While he was still looking down at them Naruto looked up, he must have seen Kakashi in the reflection on the river. He looked at him for a moment before turning his attention to waves lapping below on the river. Kakashi could only smile down at him. Naruto wasn't smiling but he had that look in his eye, the one that said he wouldn't give up no matter how much changed. He saw the fire burning behind his former student's brilliant blue eyes and was suddenly reminded of a similar pair of eyes he had seen when he was younger. With that thought he returned to his former undertaking of staring ahead waiting for sunrise. It came all too soon.

XXXXXXXX

When the sun finally rose Kakashi reluctantly stood. He gazed down once more at his students to see them both look up at him. He nodded and took off towards the front gate. He looked back only once to see that they had both turned to watch him go. He quickly grabbed a bag from his apartment and headed off. He reached the front gate and waited for the rest of the team to show up. There were two other Jounin and one Chuunin going with him on this mission, he had never even heard of them before. He sighed sadly and looked up at the sunrise wishing momentarily that he had been able to say goodbye to Obito before he left. He'd just have to give him the full details when he got back he decided just as three people walked up to him. He nodded once before taking off out the gate. He didn't bother to glance back as he felt them follow. On the road he nodded to two other Jounin he ran past before darting into the trees and disappearing.

XXXXXXXX

Once Kakashi had departed Sakura and Naruto went back to gazing. As the sun rose steadily higher the noise began to pick up as others woke and went about their daily business. Finally Naruto moved from his seat on the rail and stood next to Sakura. She looked up to nod and smile goodbye to him. The two parted Sakura headed towards Tsunade's office and Naruto set off for the training field. Neither looked back or even showed any signs that anything was different. But if one looked closely they would see Sakura's soft smile was more real than before, they would see the fire that shone in Naruto's eyes. They would know that there was hope that everything would be all right.