The White Rose

The breathlessness and fatigue crawling into Kakashi Hatake and engulfing him whole was unbearable. And yet,

“Right side.. The Sharingan is on his right side.” Kakashi analyzed as he struggled to maintain his balance due to his vision blurring and head spinning all at once. However, being such a remarkably skilled young ninja, the jonin had his black and blood-red eyes fixed on the man. The man had no doubt recovered faster than Kakashi from whatever.. That was. He had his arms crossed and leaned on a tree across Kakashi. It was like he taunted Kakashi for his weakness.. Or maybe he was just supporting his aching body.

Slowly but surely, a realization hit Kakashi like a pound to the stomach, “Black hair.. Sharingan… An Uchiha. This is an.. Uchiha.”

It did not take a genius to know what the famed clan's strengths were. They simply bore unmatched strength, sorrows, and love. Nobody was said to feel or exist as deeply as an Uchiha. 

Certainly, this grey-haired boy understood better than anyone.

A lump formed in the boy’s throat and he used his eyes to desperately search for something or someone to give him a reason. A reason to fight.. A reason to continue tonight.. Or someone who could easily excuse his actions of the past as a survival instinct or simply tell him none of what happened was his fault. That nothing happening right now is his fault.. 

Kakashi Hatake sought his mother. 

Kushina Uzumaki was already looking at her son when he made eye contact with her. She looked terrible. She was like a trampled leaf sitting in a forest. Her hair was a mess, she had cuts and scratches all over her body, and was soaked in sweat and a mix of what looked like dirt and blood.

It was definitely a bad decision for Kakashi to look at her right now. His heart clenched at the sight. And yet, she looked at him with her big blue promising eyes, hoping he could seek strength somewhere in them.

The mother and son were both suffering with no way to save each other.

In a split second, Kakashi’s head filled with ominous thoughts and his eyes quickly shot back to the masked man. “No.. where is his other Sharingan?” “Is he a user like me?” “Is he.. even an Uchiha?”

Kakashi now noticed the man had been observing him the entire time but did not bother attacking or taking advantage of Kakashi losing his focus. “Why?”

And so, after what seemed like years, Kakashi gained his strength and stood upright. The man released his grip from the tree and approached Kakashi. The grey-haired boy only knew what was coming next and he knew he needed to do something now. Or plan something now. “Move.” he told himself. Again. And again. “Move!” “Move!” “Move!” 

He deliberately took a little longer to reach for Kushina and he broke into tons of sweat doing so, being terrified of what could go wrong.

But his plan worked. The man didn’t waste time to hurl Kakashi and himself through the forest. His fist guided Kakashi’s chest, pushing him back, farther, and farther each time.

Tree after tree, boulder after boulder, the two left behind a trail of havoc.

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Everything around Kakashi laid in ruins before he could process anything.

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Kakashi could not recall what he had just gone through, but he knew the plan had worked. Although Kushina was alone, they were certainly miles away from her. Hopefully he bought them time to somehow defeat this man and quickly rush back to her. Or hopefully she could escape alone somehow.. Hopefully Minato had Naruto and was somehow taking care of the resentful Nine Tails. 

Kakashi Hatake had one chance, and it was now to defeat this excuse of a Sharingan user and get back to Kushina. 

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[One minute earlier]

The two stood face to face, hardly being able to look in each other’s eyes. Maybe it was a choice, or maybe something killed both of them inside when they did.

Maybe Kakashi was finally hallucinating due to his constant suffering, because he saw the man’s eyes glowing like crystals.

The man’s eyes had.. welled up, and before Kakashi could make sense of any of it, he instinctually leapt to Kushina following his plan.

It was like seeing one man but two shadows. Who was he really? Everything was a blur.

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[Present]

Blood splattered everywhere. Kakashi’s mask was soaking itself in blood, not knowing whose it was, as the man sat atop him delivering punch after punch. There was no opening Kakashi saw even with his Sharingan. The last time he had felt this lost was when his father passed. The boy grew tired and frustrated just hoping everything would somehow magically end already. Back then, he prayed for death to knock on his door, ready to put him in an everlasting slumber because there was nobody waiting for him at home anyway. But now, Kakashi had people who loved him, people he wanted to protect no matter the cost.

He would not so easily falter.

Kakashi thought of what he could do or say. Each punch however, restarted his track of thought.

Suddenly, the boy coughed. It seemed like he was trying to speak, but blood poured out every attempt.

“O-”

The man’s fist froze in the air. His fist was shaking, but he restrained himself from landing it.

Kakashi had wondered why this man was pursuing him with so much passion, given the man’s mission must have been to ruin Minato’s family. To be truthful, Kakashi is none of their blood. He is his father Sakumo’s blood. So why doesn’t this man just knock him out and go kill Minato, Kushina, and Naruto?

Kakashi thought this man had to have been someone he knew of. Maybe someone who was not content with the life Kakashi was living. He became an ANBU captain at a young age and was adopted by his loving sensei. His life was starting anew and maybe someone hated that. But Kakashi was confused as to why someone would be a spectator of his lonely and miserable life waiting to take everything away from him once again.

Kakashi just wished he would change the topic with what he was about to say, maybe manipulate the man into thinking of his own life and sidetracking his thoughts, even for a while. 

“O-Obito,” the boy finally managed to get out.

Kakashi noticed the man paused to look him dead in the eye. The look in the man’s eyes was indescribable. They were wistful, annoyed, and stern all at once. “I knew it,” Kakashi thought to himself. He didn’t notice, but his own chin was jutting out a bit. Kakashi was confident now that he found a spot to aim for.

“...What..?” the man spoke back.

Deep down, the man’s insides were being stabbed thousands of times. His whole body throbbed, ached, or maybe the simple call of a name so familiar by someone even more familiar was as powerful as devouring him whole. It was torturing his mind and heart.

The boy’s grey hair was tainted red in some spots and he spoke, “I’m sorry Obito.. If only I was as strong as you. If only.. If only I could see more… with this eye you gave me.”

The moon shone its white beams on them, being a silent witness of the exchange between the two. they were.. people. opponents. Nothing more than that. Kakashi overestimated himself as an actor, because his eyes began to water. His words were nothing but genuine. He just hoped the man would waste some more time as he listened to the sob story.

“By the way he stopped to listen, he must’ve known Obito.” Kakashi thought to himself. He spoke again, “You must’ve known Obito Uchiha. He is… was my best friend. He entrusted me with his Sharingan. He was my hero. And.. you have one sharingan too.. There must be someone special who gave you that.”

Shattered. The masked man’s world was crumbled up into a paper, stomped all over, and thrown into the garbage with the rest of the filth. He might as well go there too. “Of course he wouldn’t know.” The man thought to himself. “How.. pathetic of me.” 

“Stop the child’s play.” the man spoke, poison glazed his words, fist threatening to smash not only the boy’s face, but body into nothing but bones.

Kakashi fought back, his words bitter with contempt, “All I know is Obito would despise someone like you-”

The man just stared at the sky and gave a small but saddening chuckle. He looked back down at the young ANBU captain and spoke, “You know nothing of Obito Uchiha.” His every word was like a stab in the heart to Kakashi.

The boy cast an exasperated and confused look. How could Kakashi Hatake out of everyone know nothing of Obito Uchiha? And who was this man to be acting like he knew Obito better than his best friend? This man was just talking bull. 

Kakashi instantly grabbed the man’s neck and dug his blood filled nails, “I thought you might have had someone you honoured given that you have one gifted Sharingan. But I was wrong. You are as worthless as the words you speak.” 

In the past hour, Kakashi had never seen the look he saw on the man’s face he had seen now, though only being able to see his eyes. The pair’s Sharingans reflected back on each other. It was like watching pools of blood moving in waves casted by different winds. Only that one wind was poisonous and filled with pure hatred and the other just discovered its wind could be hindered by the impact of someone else. One could say the man looked defeated or betrayed even. “That’s the spirit.” Kakashi thought to himself.

Kakashi Hatake had a game to win. “Think of this as any other mere mission.” He reminded himself.

Kakashi grabbed the man’s head and smashed it into his own. A strike to the head was the first technique to throw someone off, and so the grey-haired boy swept himself to his feet and calmly focused his energy in his chidori. Kakashi noticed the man forgot to use his Sharingan to make himself warp into nothing but air when Kakashi pounded his head on his own. “Good. I’ve hit a spot for him.” he thought to himself.

The man finally found his feet and stood up after Kakashi managed to light up his whole arm in lightning. Now when Kakashi looked up from his chidori, the man noticed something was different about him. Kakashi truly did not care anymore of what would happen to the man or himself. He was ready to stain his hands with that beast’s blood. It was that look of being unbothered that sent a shiver down the man’s spine.

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A noise of struggle was heard. A boy shuffled around unconscious. “I can’t move.” he thought to himself. A nervous feeling suddenly woke him. He opened his eyes and had no clue what had happened. He was bound to a tree with something he couldn’t see. Like something invisible. Kakashi looked up and what he was about to witness next was something he could have never imagined. 

The Nine Tails was up against Minato and Kushina. Kakashi saw Naruto sleeping nearby on the floor. The parents put Naruto in a distance that they could have him out of range of the threat but also close enough to protect. 

Kakashi was shocked by the view. How did he get here? And how long had this been going on for? Would the Nine Tails be sealed again? 

The grey-haired boy’s eyes instantly searched for that man who let the beast out. Kakashi debated who the real beast was, because that man was definitely not human. That bastard left Kakashi here tied and left. “Why am I even tied?” Kakashi silently pondered. 

He struggled against the invisible wire.. Or rope.. Or even creatures that had him in such a grasp. He slowly began to scream in an attempt to free himself, as he poured all his strength in but it was useless. Minato quickly shifted his focus to where that noise was coming from. He saw Kakashi looking directly at him, Minato could offer nothing but a sorry glance.

The father could not leave his position now or his wife and newborn child would be done for. He gave Kakashi a brief nod indicating to stay where he is. Out of sight and trouble.

Kakashi slouched back in the wire for a second, confused. Then he went back into action. He could not stay tied to a tree forever; there was no time to waste. He had to leave. The roaring of the Nine Tails was like a warning for him to get out of there and do something before it did something terrible, irreversible even. 

He could move nothing but his head and feet and nothing worked. Kushina and Minato also seemed worn out, they wouldn’t last long in a fight like this. A new mother and a man  thinking about protecting three people so personal to him. Something had to happen fast or it would all be over.

The Nine Tails was going berserk and ruined half the forest already trying to kill the family. Kakashi caught the beast eyeing the village, “Probably next to target,” he thought to himself. Kakashi could tell the Nine Tails was infuriated, and as if he had a human mind, the beast finally thought to attack the vulnerability of the two parents.He saw the beast’s tails stretch and head in the direction of.. “Naruto.” Kakashi realized. Sweat covered his whole body. He began screaming the loudest he ever had, trying to escape that godforsaken tree. If he had been there, he could have easily protected Naruto. At least that was what he thought…

Until he heard and saw what came next.

Kakashi’s eyes widened and his mouth opened as if to scream. But nothing came out. His eyes welled up and he felt like someone was suffocating him.

Kakashi Hatake’s eyes reflected red- the colour of the river that approached him, carving its own small passage through the forest, as if pointing a finger directly at him.