Chapter 10
Sasuke scowled at the water, peering over the edge and fingering a kunai as he tried to catch sight of whoever was throwing rocks across the water. It seriously wasn’t helping the tension on the bridge and he needed the person to just stop. He sighed and spun around, meeting Sai’s eyes and looking at the dumb bridge builder. They were safe.
Another rock hit the water, this time on Sai’s side. Sasuke withheld his groan, though his hands tightened on his kunai as Sai checked the water. Even he was starting to lose that emotionless smile and settling into a frown. It seemed whoever was throwing the rocks was starting to get on his nerves too.
Sasuke hummed, regarding Sai a moment longer as he thought back to last night after he came back from training.
*****
Sasuke scowled at Kakashi. He’d just been sitting there, doing nothing but smile and grin at their annoyance.His training methods were starting to get on Sasuke’s nerves.
Seriously, the guy handed him a few kunai, set up nine targets and said ‘hit them’ after Sasuke had a nightmare. Which was freaking annoying because the stupid training methods worked.
Why it did, Sasuke didn’t know. But he knew it was annoying and he said so. Multiple times. To which Kakashi just grinned and ruffled his hair.
If Sasuke heard anyone say Kakashi was the coolest or hottest ninja ever, he would first slap them then give a ten hour presentation why he wasn’t the coolest or hottest ninja ever and exploit every single secret he learned about him.
Sasuke was holding over his head a picture of his room, which was covered with dog sheets and Icha Icha posters. He didn’t really want to know what Kakashi had on him though.
He was jarred out of his thoughts when Tsunami entered the room again. “Here you go,” she said, placing the food in front of them.
“Thank you, Tsunami-san,” Sasuke said. Sai and Sakura followed him.
“Thank you for housing us, Tsunami-san,” Kakashi said.
“Of course, Hatake-san,” Tsunami said, sitting down.
They sat in silence for a little bit, munching on the tasteless food. Sasuke wasn’t gonna complain though, it was better than whatever Kakashi could make. Which wasn’t much at all.
Sasuke swore he once burnt salad. But he couldn’t be sure.
“Mom! Why are you letting these…shinobi into our house?” a kid snapped, bounding into the dining area.
“Because they’re helping your grandfather despite not being paid fully,” Tsunami explained, slightly exasperated. Probably from having to explain it to him multiple times.
“So they have to sleep here and eat our food? They aren’t heroes, Mom! They ask for money while we’re living off of scraps! Naoki saved Kaiza-touchan for nothing!”
Naoki? Sasuke froze and regarded the kid. He had a run in with Naoki, probably saving the father currently sleeping on a bedroll.
“Inari,” Tsunami said sharply, “That was a different situation you know nothing about.”
“Kaiza-touchan almost-almost died and Naoki saved him! People are hungry yet these shinobi just take our food!”
“Inari!”
Sasuke watched as Sai put down his chopsticks, studying him. Did that…affect him? Sasuke didn’t even know he could even be affected.
“I am sorry, Inari-san,” Sai said, bowing his head. “We did not mean to be disrespectful.”
“Don’t worry, Sai-san,” Tsunami said, “He’s been…biased ever since Naoki rescued my husband, Kaiza.”
“It is quite alright, Tsunami-san,” Kakashi said, placing a hand on Sai’s shoulder. “It is understandable considering the circumstances.”
“Thank you, Kakashi-san,” Tsunami said. They watched as Inari stomped out of the house. “Inari was very close to Kaiza but now all he’s done is yell at him since he was saved by Naoki.”
“Naoki?” Kakashi hummed, eyes focused on his food.
“Yes, the mercenary came and killed off a few of Gato’s men. He saved Kaiza.” A sad smile spread across Tsunami’s lips, “Inari has looked up to him since. Keeps saying that heroes don’t exist, only survivors.” She shook her head, “I don’t even know where she got it from.”
“It’s true.” Sasuke hadn’t looked away from Sai, but even he was surprised by the sudden statement. Sai looked as if he’d been struck but didn’t want to show it. He just looked resigned. “Heroes don’t exist. They’re make believe.”
Kakashi laid a hand on Sai’s shoulder, squeezing it. Sai brushed it off, standing up and bowing, “I am sorry, Tsunami-san. I cannot eat.” Sai walked out of the room, into their sleeping area.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, Inari and Sai’s plates staying where they were.
*****
Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts, continuing down the walkway. Sai was weird anyway, there really shouldn’t have been anything surprising about the encounter anyway.
But there was something there that didn’t click right.
Sasuke paused, frowning when mist started coming towards them. He took a step back towards Tazuna as the mist crept towards them. He met Sai’s eyes before taking up a defensive position, Sai jumping behind Tazuna and making a few snakes.
Sasuke’s eyes widened as an explosion went off near Kakashi. He swallowed a yell and took out a kunai. Kakashi was strong. He wouldn’t die so easily.
He never thought the sound of swords clashing would be comforting. He grit his teeth as senbon bit into his thigh, jumping back as a second wave of senbon came flying. His eyes darted around and his stance shifted.
The temperature dropped the exact same time the mist creeped into the area. He squinted through the mist. “Protect the client!” Kakashi yelled, “Zabuza is here!”
Sasuke cursed and jumped back, standing right in front of Tazuna. “You take the back, I guard the front,” he said, glancing back at Sai before scanning the area around him, suddenly wishing that he had the sharingan. It would have helped see through this damn fog.
“Is that not what we’re doing right now?”
“I mean you get defense, I get offense.”
“Is that not what-”
Sasuke parried a kunai that was thrown at him, eyes darting around. He snapped his head around as a shadow darted around them. “Coming to your 12 o’clock!” Sasuke called out. The air turned cold and he shivered, resisting the urge to rub his arms. He needed to be alert. He looked from one place to another, eyes jumping to any sudden movement. Was this the person that Naoki was talking about? Zabuza’s accomplice?
Sasuke resisted the urge to spin around when he heard something hitting the ground. Sai would be okay. He had his back and even had his creations to take the hits. Sasuke needed to focus on himself for this. He had to have faith in Sai.
“Uchiha Sasuke. Where are your eyes?”
Sasuke stiffened.
“Shouldn’t you have the sharingan?”
“Shut up!”
“Useless, really.” The masked guy sighed. “An Uchiha without the sharingan? What use is he to his village? Especially being the last Uchiha. A disappointment.”
He really shouldn’t listen to the accomplice. He knew that. But he couldn’t help but listen. It’s not as if he had the choice to just turn off his hearing. He needed to use all his senses to stop any attacks coming towards him and Tazuna.
But he could act as if it didn’t affect him.
“Plenty of Uchiha never activated the sharingan,” Sasuke said.
“But with what you witnessed? Maybe you just don’t have the sharingan. Or a heart.”
“Shut up!” Sasuke yelled, “I-I have the sharingan.”
“Then activate it.”
As if it were that easy. If it were, he’d already start training it. If it were that easy, every Uchiha would have the sharingan.
But it’s not and he should have the sharingan because he saw all the bodies, all the blood on the streets. All the death. That he alone should have activated the sharingan. If not that, the genjutsu Itachi put on him should have completed the requirements.
Yet he didn’t have it.
“It’s not that easy,” Sasuke growled, pushing back the rising feelings of self-disgust. He can punch a tree to dust when he gets home and bottle up these stupid feelings.
“But it is. Call it up.”
“Why do you even want it?” Sasuke snarled, throwing a kunai at the voice. He obviously missed.
It took the voice a minute to respond. “I want a challenge.”
Sasuke scowled, “Well, you chose the wrong person.” He lunged for his opponent, a snarl on his lips as he dodged, jumping sideways and out of his path. Sasuke subconsciously acknowledged that the apprentice did something, but there was no immediate reaction. He ignored it. There was nothing that needed his immediate attention with whatever the guy did. But the senbon thrown at him needed his attention. He jumped out of the way, his eyes darting to the sound of something shattering. Ice, his mind supplied, eyes flickering to the shards on the ground.
He couldn’t dwell on the fact that the senbon were made up of ice, having to dodge and jump out of the next wave of ice senbon the guy threw at him. He moved backwards, trying to get out of the guys throwing range, distantly noticing the dropping temperature. He snarled wordlessly, ignoring the chill settling on his skin. He couldn’t waste chakra in an attempt to warm up his fighting area. The guy would just lower the temperature again to make his ice senbon anyway.
“Your useless senbon won’t work on me!” he yelled, hearing more senbon shattering behind him. “They’re so delicate they won’t even cut my skin!”
The guy didn’t react other than responding with an irritatingly calm voice. “They’ll do their job. You’re not anywhere close to your Sensei’s skill, after all.”
Sasuke snarled, throwing himself out of the way when the masked guy suddenly appeared before him, seeing the glint of the ice senbon in between his fingers. Damn it, those might be poisoned, he thought, seeing something drip off of the senbon and on to the ground.
He skidded along the ground, his fingers protesting the rough treatment of the ground cutting his skin. He ignored it though, he didn’t have time to nurse the cuts, after all.
A quick glance around and he cursed under his breath. How didn’t he notice the dome rising around him? He dodged a new barrage of senbon and sent a fireball at the wall, worry settling in as the steam cleared and revealed that the ice didn’t even look like it melted even a little.
“A…good effort, Uchiha Sasuke,” the guy murmured. “But you would need a…bit more experience than what you have to break through my ice dome. After all, my experience and power is much greater than your few months as a weak genin.”
“Experience doesn’t compare to raw power,” Sasuke snarled, glaring at the guy and keeping him in his eyesight. They circled each other, Sasuke not quite able to meet his opponents eyes. “You may be Zabuza’s apprentice, but I won’t let some glorified no name sidekick beat me.”
“A decent theory,” the guy hummed. “You are welcome to test it. You won’t make it out of this alive, anyway.” That damn infuriating tone! It’s as if this is nothing but a spar to him when he’s actively trying to murder Sasuke!
Sasuke growled under his breath before responding. “You're clearly incapable of killing me.” He looked around, “I mean, I’m inside your own ice dome!” As if he couldn’t kill Sasuke. Sasuke was just betting on the fact that the guy underestimated him and plans on playing with him.
“Begin whenever you wish, Uchiha Sasuke.” Sasuke had a feeling the guy was smiling.
He snarled, lunging for the guy and swung at his neck. The guy blocked his punch, shoving his arm away and throwing Sasuke off balance. He stumbled back, reacting too late when rapid fire punches were thrown at his torso. Sasuke grunted, bringing his arms in front of his torso and planting his feet, letting it stop his momentum as he was pushed back. The punches, albeit fast, did not pack very much energy behind them. A Lee problem, he thought, though not as strong as Lee. Just have to work through the speed.
He steeled himself against the barrage of punches, switching his angle and striking through the mask. He followed up with a kick to the chest. A moment of triumph trickled through as blood splattered on the dirt. His opponent slid back and he jumped back, furthering the distance. He eyed his opponent, falling into a defensive position. He didn’t know if the guy had any more, possibly poisoned, senbon on hand. He really didn’t want to be poisoned. Once a mission was enough, thank you very much.
The guy recovered, continuing to walk backwards and up the wall. Sasuke saw a bit of the ruined mask fall on the ground, but didn’t actively try to see the face. It wasn’t necessary to know what his opponent's face looked like. He watched as his opponent walked until he was directly above Sasuke. The dome shimmered and Sasuke readied for an attack.
Senbon rained down on him and he blew a fireball, melting them. Pain bloomed from the back of his head and he stumbled forward, turning around and barely glimpsing a blur of motion before having to protect himself from a kick aimed at his face. He blinked his eyes, trying to reorientate himself as he threw out a blind kick, grazing his opponent. He jumped, hopefully, away and fell into a defensive stance, his eyes clearing up and fixing his gaze on the guy.
He scoffed, faking confidence he didn’t have after that last hit. “You may be fast, but your hits aren’t that strong.” He grinned, “I just need a few hits and you’ll slow down enough to finish you.”
“Perhaps,” the guy hummed. “But you should know-” Sasuke met hazel eyes, fury sparking into a flame as he readied a jutsu.
“-you are not the main objective.” The man stated. Shock rolled through Sasuke, momentarily dousing the fury. “I am merely here to fight you as a distraction and here for my own enjoyment.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sasuke snapped.
The guy mockingly sighed, “May as well take a look at your failure.” Sasuke, confused, glances at the ice. It was much like glass, see through.
But he couldn’t hear anything.
Sasuke stumbled back, eyes widening and throat closing up as he watched Kakashi fight. Or take a beating. Kakashi was bleeding profusely, eyes darting around and irritatingly calm even as Zabuza refreshed the mist. Sasuke lost track of Kakashi, but watched Zabuza pick up his enlarged kitchen knife and calmly walk around without a fucking care in the world.
“You were not the objective, Uchiha Sasuke.”
Sasuke watched as Zabuza jumped, appearing behind Kakashi and running towards Sai.
No.
Kakashi cursed and sprinted to get between Sai and Zabuza. Damn self-sacrificing bastard! Sasuke couldn’t breathe as Zabuza smiled with too many teeth and stabbed Kakashi, eyes meeting Kakashi’s calmly even as Kakashi coughed blood on Zabuza’s chest.
Zabuza ripped the sword out.
Kakashi stumbled back before falling, blood pooling beneath him.
Sai only stared, shocked.
“A pity, Kakashi of the Sharingan wasn’t very strong.”
Sasuke watched as Zabuza murmured something, Kakashi trying to respond but instead stilling in a way only the dead still, breaths no longer there.
“A disappointing death. But, alas, if your dear Sensei fell so easily against my Master, what does that mean for you?”
Sasuke snarled, grabbing a kunai and whirling around. The world brightened and he noticed the chakra coursing through the dome, saw the minute twitches in the man's body as he lunged forward, throwing his kunai at the guy and grabbing another.
The world moved too fast and too slow. But it didn’t matter as he gathered chakra in his throat, readying a fireball.
He had to avenge Kakashi.
He spat out the inferno, uncaring of the rapidly fluctuating temperatures as he hid behind his attack.
Attack.
Attack.
Attack.
No time to pause.
Atta-
“Alright! That’s enough torment, thank you Haku!”
Sasuke froze, staggering back at the sudden wash of hot air as the ice around him disintegrated. He snarled as Haku retreated towards the edge of the bridge, right next to-
Next to Naoki.
Sasuke’s world tilted. He groaned, sinking down to his knees and clasping his hands over his eyes, desperate to ease the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed his chakra to slow down, willed the burning pain behind his eyes to go down and for his world to stop tilting.
“SASUKE!”
…Kakashi? Sasuke felt hands prying his own hands away from his eyes. He tried to blink the fog out of his eyes before his vision focused on Kakashi.
Kakashi who was alive.
Who was scratched up but not bleeding out and is actually breathing and not deathly still-
How? He stared up at Kakashi, hands shaking as he scanned the should-be-dead form of Kakashi. How was he alive? He shouldn’t-couldn’t be alive.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Sasuke-kun, what’s wrong?”
Kakashi stood up, snarling. Sasuke blinked, looking up at the two mercenaries and his opponent. He stared, confused, at the laughing form of Naoki before rage filled him as he looked at his opponent. “You fucking asshole!”
Kakashi stared at him for a second before focusing his attention on their three, fairly dangerous, enemies.
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to attack you.” Sasuke flinched when he saw chakra signatures – small as they may be – march towards their location. “We’re just here to take care of Gato!”
…
Why was Naoki so damn cheerful?
*****
Naoki and Zabuza. Friends. Well, not friends. Acquaintances on the way to being work buddies it seemed.
And Kakashi is too tired to give a fuck that they may become a huge problem for Konoha. Or try to find info on Naoki. Whoops.
He let out a sigh on par with any Nara – some people even thought he was related to the Nara in some way – and leaned against the bridge wall as Naoki and Zabuza carved their way to Gato, cutting down every single one of his men with zero hesitation. He’s glad all three of his genin – two genin and one chunin, but what's the difference – turned around and looked away from the gore.
He’s just not glad they turn towards him.
He’s too tired, too exhausted to function properly. He shouldn’t have been made a jounin-sensei. Why did the Hokage think this was a good idea again?
“Kakashi?” Sakura(When did she get here?) called out. “Is Sasuke-kun alright?” Right. Sasuke was the reason. And Naruto. The Hokage needed him to focus on other things and he must’ve thought a genin team was perfect. He can’t act like a dead on his feet jounin, and the Hokage knew this because he’d want to always look semi-presentable in front of the impressionable genin.
And now he has to act actually presentable in front of Sakura and Sai as well.
Why’d Sai have to be on his team? Kakashi got it. He was in Root before. He got away. Sai is currently in Root with that damned seal on his tongue. That didn’t mean he was equipped to deal with Sai’s mental mess anymore than he’s ready to deal with his own.
He didn’t know how he managed to help Sasuke. That was a miracle. But Sai was on the same line as Kakashi. Kakashi was messed up. Kakashi didn’t know how to deal with a Root operative undercover. He barely knew how to deal with Sasuke and his Uchiha dramatics.
“Kakashi? You good?” Sasuke asked. His voice was shaky as he stood up from the ground, rubbing his eyes every now and again.
He waved Sasuke away. “Fine fine. Careful, Sasuke-kun. You may just show that you worry,” Kakashi teased, delighting in Sasuke’s annoyance. Kakashi was worried though. What did Sasuke go through in that ice dome? He didn’t look very beat up, but something must’ve happened.
“Shut up,” Sasuke grumbled, looking back. Kakashi did as well. Naoki was holding Gato’s head, which was removed from the body, and talking to Zabuza, gesturing with his unoccupied hand before sealing Gato’s head in a scroll.
Kakashi heard the two bickering but didn’t put any effort into deciphering the words.
He was too busy thinking of ways to get out of the shit he’d get for continuing this mission. He couldn’t even lie that they were attacked by missing nin on the way back. They were already here a week too long.
Oh well.
“So. What are we gonna do now?” Sakura asked, shifting from foot to foot and looking anywhere but at Kakashi and the carnage. Which was the sky.
“Go back to Konoha,” Kakashi shrugged. “You guys will write a report, assuming the Hokage raises the price and mission rank. You go home, shower, and show up tomorrow for training.”
“Kakashi of the Sharingan!”
Kakashi froze, hand snapping to a kunai and holding it protectively in front of him. He jumped in front of his genin, glaring at Naoki who strolled up to them. Haku and Zabuza met up somewhere to the side, and Kakashi made sure to keep an eye on them, but he focused on the main threat at the moment.
“Naoki. Unknown village. S-rank in the Bingo Book. Contract with Toads and has a-” Kakashi’s eyes trailed to the bright frog. Presumably poisonous. “-frog companion.”
“You know me! I’m flattered,” Naoki beamed. “Well, you did your research at least. Most people know about me.” At least Kakashi thought he was beaming. Masks were both protective and infuriating. He had a love-hate relationship with them.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“To give this to your…Hokage,” Naoki said. A gust of wind floated a piece of paper towards them. Kakashi sliced it in half with a kunai, jumping back. He was quickly followed by his genin.
He had a new appreciation for having Sasuke on his team. Kakashi taught him well.
“...or not.” Naoki sighed, shrugging. “Fine, fine. It could be transferred by word of mouth.” Kakashi narrowed his eyes, hand shifting to get ready to throw his kunai. “Tell him to stop looking for Uzumaki Naruto. He won’t be found, no matter what resources are used.”
Kakashi stiffened, eyes widening. Thousands of questions flew through his mind.
Was Naruto okay? Was he alive? Was he being treated well? Did he miss Konoha? Was Naruto being fed?
Not one left his mouth.
“Not until I want him to be, at least.” Naoki saluted them, “Well. See ya!”
And he was off. No more than a gust of wind, followed by Haku and Zabuza.
“...Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked, more timid than usual. She had been covered in blood when she ran into the fight, a poorly maintained katana in hand. He’d have to find out what happened on her side. “What happened?”
“Let’s get back to Konoha. That’s our first priority,” Kakashi said, shaking his head and turning around. He didn’t know how to answer that question. He had no idea what even happened. “You say nothing of this outside your report to the Hokage. Not to your friends. Not again to anyone on this team unless it’s me.” Gods know what they may need to talk about. “This is an unofficial S-rank secret unless told otherwise by the Hokage. Got it?”
“Yes sir,” his genin chorused. He was glad they were cooperating. He didn’t think he could take being questioned with more questions he had no answers to. He had thousands more in his head than what his genin may have.
Why did Naoki tell him this? Tell them this? Naoki had to have known that telling the village he had Naruto would be his own damnation. They would hunt him to find their jinchuuriki. Torture him for answers. Was he that confident about his abilities? If so, he was stupid. The village would send out teams of ANBU both from Root and the official ANBU to hunt him down. They would send teams of highly skilled jounin to try and take him in at every opportunity.
Kakashi sighed, crouching down and scanning the genin, “Everyone alright?”
“A few scratches,” Sakura shrugged, going to rub her arm and blinking surprisingly at the katana in her hand. She tossed it down, hesitance in her eyes. Kakashi would definitely have to talk to her. “Other than that, I’m okay.”
“Tazuna is alive, I have a few senbon cuts, but nothing lethal,” Sai said.
Kakashi looked expectantly at Sasuke, who had yet to meet his eyes. “Sasuke?” Kakashi prompted, the worry from earlier creeping in. Sasuke usually kept eye contact no matter what, unless he was lying cause he’s a shit liar. What could he possibly be hiding?
“I activated the sharingan,” Sasuke muttered. Oh shit, Kakashi resisted the urge to step forward and comfort the kid. Kakashi knew that Sasuke wouldn’t take it well if he did. Not now. “Kashi, I always had it.” The kid looked up, looking so lost. Kakashi would need to talk to him when they got home. “Why didn’t I know?”
“Your mind probably blocked it out,” Kakashi admitted. He had a hunch that Sasuke had activated the sharingan that night, but he hadn’t pushed it. He didn’t want Sasuke to have gained something the night his family died.
(It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair how Sasuke had to lose his entire family, how he ran away from a village that should have worshiped him. Then again, he shouldn’t be surprised, life wasn’t fair.)
“Did you know?” Sasuke asked, his voice laced with apprehension.
Kakashi sighed, crouching down. “I had a hunch that you did,” Kakashi admitted. “But I didn’t push it because it wasn’t fair that you gained something without family there to support you.”
“I could have trained it this whole time-”
“I wouldn’t have trained you with the sharingan for a while after the… event,” Kakashi cut him off. “I wanted to make sure you were safe, that you would push through before even beginning preparing you for the sharingan.” Kakashi didn’t regret it, wouldn’t regret it. But he did regret how the kid reactivated the sharingan, how he found out. What did they even do for him to reactivate it?
Sasuke paused before nodding, shuffling in place. “I’m alright, otherwise.”
Kakashi eye-smiled, “Good. Come on, let's pack up and head home.”
His team trudged through the massacre and past the gathering civilians, not daring to move faster than a walk and conserving their energy. The less energy they used, the more distance they could get away from the Wave.
Luckily, the house wasn’t very far. Kakashi paused, though, when he caught sight of Tsunami’s house. Seven bodies littered the ground in the front yard. The cuts didn’t look clean – more like done by a poorly maintained sword – and the wounds looked severely painful.
“They…ambushed the house.” Sakura’s voice was quiet and she wasn’t looking anywhere in their vicinity. “They…underestimated me and thought I ran off.”
Kakashi nodded, laying a hand on top of her head. “You did good.” He smiled at her before looking at Sasuke. “Sakura, Sasuke, stay here and make sure no one comes near here.”
Sasuke and Sakura nodded, shuffling away and taking up positions by the main road.
Kakashi and Sai made their way in, stepping over three more bodies before entering the room they were staying in. They rooted around the room, gathering bags and stuffing whatever stuff they thought were theirs into a bag. They didn’t have time to linger any longer than they had too. Their job was done and they had to leave. They should have left last week. But what was done is done. He could regret and wallow in it later, when his team was safe and he could get drunk at the bar.
Kakashi did one last sweep of the room before signaling Sai out. They shunshinned to the front of the house. “Got everything?” Sasuke asked, looking around once more before turning towards him.
“Everything that's needed,” Kakashi nodded. He grabbed onto Sasuke while Sai held Sakura’s shoulder. He really would need to teach Sasuke and Sakura the shunshin sooner rather than later. He’d do that after their well deserved time off. “Let's hit the road.”
They shunshinned to where they entered the island, seeing the boat person and climbing on with only a few words. Kakashi handed the sailor money and they were off. They ignored Tazuna’s gaze as they sped past the unfinished and bloodied bridge. They didn’t need their money. The Hokage should fund the genin for a disaster of the mission this was. Kakashi didn’t even mind if it came from his own salary.
Kakashi sighed, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. “This was one hell of a mission,” he muttered, closing his eyes. He was going to sleep for a week after drinking away the memories of what his genin went through.
Sasuke snorted, looking away. “No shit.”
“Language, Sasuke-kun.” Kakashi smiled as Sasuke rolled his eyes. He still slid closer to Kakashi, leaning on him crossing his arms over his chest.
Kakashi jolted as Sakura squeezed in on his other side, Sai leaning on her side. He smiled slightly, inwardly cursing his new inability to keep a good emotional distance from these genin. They were his now, and he wasn’t going to let them down. They deserved more than that.
Damn it.
Actually.
Damn it, Hiruzen.