Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Path of No Regrets: Renewal ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still not mine. (I'll let you know when.)

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But all is not forgotten
And now's no time for tears
`Cause though that boy has died, this one still lives
And now there's life
And a chance to make up for all those mistakes

--The Cooper Temple Clause, “The Same Mistakes”

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Path of No Regrets

-Chapter 2-

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As far as Kakashi was concerned, the fact that Sasuke had been unconscious for two days, and yet had somehow managed to exhaust Kakashi more during those two days than in the entire year he'd been training him until now, was paramount evidence of just how much trouble his student was capable of causing when he wanted to.

And the worst of it was, Sasuke had always been trouble even at the best of times. Right from the start, it had been apparent just how much his need for vengeance was driving him, eating at him. Kakashi could recall as if it were yesterday his very first meeting with his cute little team, when they'd all introduced themselves. He remembered how Sasuke, his elbows propped on his knees and his chin resting calmly in his hands, had looked at him coolly and matter-of-factly and said that there was a certain man he wanted to kill. And right from the start, Kakashi had seen far too much of his old self in the brooding glare of the young prodigy, and concluded that to take him as a student would be an extraordinarily bad idea.

But Sasuke had surprised him.

It wasn't his talent or ability as a ninja that had impressed Kakashi on that very first day of training, during the bell test, although Sasuke's skills had been remarkable nonetheless. The boy had shown first-rate capability for his age and rank, and it had been clear from the start that the only thing he was really lacking was a competent and dedicated teacher. But Kakashi had seen potential before, and it alone was not enough to convince him, especially not when that potential was so weighed down by hatred and the desire for revenge.

What had made Kakashi reconsider, what had finally convinced him to take on the first three-man genin squad he had ever graduated in his life, had been the simple act of one boy offering to share his lunch with another. The fact that Sasuke, of all people, had been willing to take that risk and disobey Kakashi because doing so would benefit the team.

It had only been one small, trivial action, but in doing it, Sasuke had unknowingly proven two crucial things to his doubtful instructor. One, that he and the others were actually capable of working as a team, and two… that he was capable of learning.

And that had been what ultimately won Kakashi over. It was small, yes, but it was proof that this boy, given time and guidance, could still avoid the dark fate he seemed to be headed toward. That he could avoid the mistakes Kakashi himself had once made, and overcome the obstacles life had thrown in his path in order to reach his true potential.

That had been his hope. Now, though, all Kakashi could do was sit and despondently wonder where it had all started to go so wrong.

Of course, he knew the answer perfectly well. Hindsight, as ever, was 20/20, and Kakashi understood exactly where, when and why Sasuke had started down this road again. It had been when Itachi returned to Konoha. Orochimaru had provided the door that had led to this current mess of a situation, of course, but make no mistake, it had been Itachi who'd come along and pushed Sasuke through it. Again.

But even so, for a single encounter with his brother to push Sasuke this far… along with the fact that Kakashi, for all the effort he'd put into teaching Sasuke, had still failed to see it coming…

It was more than just Itachi and Orochimaru who were to blame, and he knew it. He himself had failed Sasuke, as a teacher, mentor, and whatever else it was that he had taken it upon himself to be. Maybe he wasn't directly at fault, but the fact remained that he had been capable of preventing this. And he hadn't. And in that, if nothing else, he had failed his student.

And there was the rub, wasn't it? It was certainly why he had, after initially retrieving Naruto and Sasuke, completed the S-class mission he'd previously put off in record time, then raced back to Konoha and point-blank refused to take on any other missions until this had all been sorted out. And it was why, aside from the time he'd spent questioning Naruto and then reporting back to Tsunade and the Advisors, he hadn't left Sasuke's side, not even to visit Obito. Guilt had something to do with it, yes; it was pointless to deny that. But on the whole, it was simply because he had failed Sasuke once…

On the bed before him, the boy moaned suddenly and started to stir for the first time in two days.

…and he was not about to do it again. Not this time.

And that was that.

---

The first thing Sasuke quietly asked, before he even opened his eyes, was, “Where am I?”

Not in Hidden Sound, thought Kakashi. And you're not ever going there if I have anything to say about it.

What he said out loud, however, was simply, “Back home.”

Sasuke opened his eyes gradually, as if doing so was painful. He made no attempt to look at Kakashi; whether this was done purposely or whether it was simply because turning his head required more effort than he was willing to give at the moment, Kakashi didn't know. His gaze was cloudy and unfocused at first as he slowly blinked in the light of the room.

Then suddenly his eyes cleared and shot fully open.

“Where's Naruto?”

When Kakashi (somewhat taken by surprise) did not immediately reply, Sasuke urgently pressed, “He's back too? He's here?”

“…He's back,” Kakashi said at last.

And when a look of relief—albeit gone almost as soon as it came—actually passed through Sasuke's eyes, Kakashi felt the first stirring of hope he'd had in days, and, just for a moment, allowed himself to think that maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would surprise him again.

He sighed. Well, there was nothing else for it.

“I have a lot of questions for you, Sasuke.”

He waited a beat, and when Sasuke said nothing, continued. “Pakkun and I found you and Naruto at the Valley of the End, unconscious. Kabuto was also there, and there was clear evidence of a large-scale battle. I fought Kabuto, but he escaped; after that, I brought the two of you back here. That was two days ago.”

Still silence. So: “That's all I've got in terms of details, Sasuke. That's all anyone knows… that's why it's crucial that you tell me, here and now, just what happened back there.”

Finally, Sasuke queried, voice low, “Why don't you just ask Naruto?”

“I already did. He insisted that he didn't remember anything.”

“And you believed him?” Sasuke's tone was dubious.

Kakashi smiled humorlessly beneath his mask.

“Of course not. But if he refuses to tell us, there's no point in continuing to ask.”

“You could have used a jutsu,” Sasuke pointed out.

“We could have,” Kakashi acknowledged. “But that would have been pretty drastic. In the end, we decided to simply wait and see if you couldn't clarify things for us first.”

It was close enough to the truth, though the real reasons for deciding against the use of a mind jutsu also tended toward the fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki, and no one quite knew just what would come of trying such a thing on him.

“…Why would you take my word for it?” Sasuke asked doubtfully after a pause.

Kakashi eyed him thoughtfully. Then he answered, “Because you've never lied to me before, and I don't see why you would start now.”

A look passed through Sasuke's eyes that Kakashi could not quite read. Then he turned his head away so that Kakashi could no longer see his face.

Finally, he asked, “So what happens now?”

Kakashi didn't immediately answer.

“…I'm already a missing-nin for leaving the village, right?” Sasuke continued, his tone containing just enough strained indifference for it to be instantly transparent. “That's how it works, isn't it? …So what happens to me now?”

“…Technically, that's true,” Kakashi said at last. “But, and I'm sure you can attest to this… there are extenuating circumstances to consider.” He paused, then added quietly, “And even the Hokage herself knows how easy it is to be manipulated by Orochimaru.”

Sasuke stiffened, almost imperceptibly, but said nothing.

“No one was killed; no permanent damage was done,” Kakashi went on. “At the moment, they have no reason to press any serious charges. So I don't think the punishment will be too severe. And I'll personally do my best to help there as much as I possibly can… provided that you tell me what I need to know.”

He waited, but still Sasuke did not reply. So finally, Kakashi just decided to push for the answers he needed.

“I'm going to tell you what I think, Sasuke. I felt both your chakra and Naruto's when I was approaching the valley. When I got there, you had just passed out after hitting Kabuto with your Chidori. It used up your remaining chakra, meaning that it almost certainly wasn't the first Chidori you'd used that day.”

He paused—Sasuke's left hand had clenched ever so slightly—then continued.

“I also found, later, that Naruto had a hole torn in his jacket that I don't believe was caused by Kabuto. Naruto says he tore it during an earlier fight; as previously mentioned, I don't believe him.”

Again, Sasuke's palm tightened. Finally, Kakashi asked plainly, “Did you fight him?”

The answer, when it came at last, was so quiet he only just heard it.

“…Yes.”

Then, suddenly, something just seemed to break, and Sasuke blurted:

“I tried to kill him.”

It was just sudden and just chilling enough that even though Kakashi had almost been expecting such an answer, when it finally came, it hit him off guard. For a moment, all he could do was stare at Sasuke, who still refused to look back at him.

“It—he got in my way,” Sasuke went on, as if unable to stop himself once it was out. “Just like always… and I… I just… he didn't understand a damned thing, all he wanted was to stop me, and I couldn't let him, I had to…” He stumbled for a beat, swallowed, then finally said, “And so I thought… I'd just end it there, once and for all.”

He was gripping the bedsheet tighter than ever now; his knuckles were white.

“…I don't know why I… I just…” He trailed off, gritting his teeth, and didn't say anything else for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat more composed. “…So we fought. I used Chidori again; he used that other technique. It went on for a while, and then… I beat him. And after that…” He paused in mid-sentence, then said finally, “And that was when he came. Kabuto. …And the rest of it you know.”

“Kabuto was after you?” Kakashi asked after a pause.

Sasuke started slightly. Then he replied, “…Yeah. But he…” He frowned, trailing off again, but Kakashi had already figured out the rest.

“He tried to kill Naruto too,” he filled in.

Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it and simply nodded.

“So you used Chidori,” Kakashi concluded. “And then blacked out.”

Another nod.

Kakashi leaned back against his chair for a moment as he silently contemplated everything he'd just heard.

“Sasuke, look at me,” he said at last.

There was a long moment of hesitation before Sasuke finally did turn to meet his eyes for the first time. Kakashi looked at him long and hard, and to his credit, Sasuke did not flinch or look away. Kakashi could see guilt and regret in those eyes, which relieved him, but also uncertainty and indecision, which wasn't quite as encouraging. It meant that Sasuke was still unsure of exactly where he stood now. And whatever else happened, Kakashi needed surety on this matter, above all others.

“You used Chidori two different times in two different ways back there,” he stated. “First to try to kill your teammate… and then to save his life. You need to decide, right now, which of those two things it's going to be from now on.”

Sasuke glanced downward for a second. Then he looked back up at Kakashi.

“…If I couldn't do it then, what makes you think I'll ever be able to?”

For the briefest of moments, a faint, distant hint of bitterness seemed to cloud his expression. But then it cleared, and he looked at Kakashi firmly.

Kakashi regarded him, then nodded.

“All right. That's all I needed to hear. Then I'll help.”

Sasuke gave a brief nod in return and looked back down. As he did so, Kakashi caught a momentary glimpse of the mark on his neck, and remembered one last thing.

“…I do have one more question for you, though,” he said softly, and Sasuke, almost as if he could sense what he was thinking, suddenly tensed.

“When I brought you back, I noticed you had two holes in the back of your own shirt, but no wounds.”

When Sasuke was silent, he pressed, “Do you know where they might have come from?”

“…It sounds like you already know,” Sasuke finally stated.

Kakashi sighed, and wished that he didn't.

“…Both Shikamaru's team and a separate jounin squad described witnessing a second level of the curse seal. They said it gave the user an incredible amount of power, but in an abnormal form. It caused their bodies to transform somehow. And Shikamaru's team also reported that they found you in a barrel with a sealing jutsu on it when they initially caught up.”

Sasuke again failed to respond, so finally Kakashi just said it.

“With that upgrade, it might be more difficult to control from now on, even with the sealing spell I put on it.”

Sasuke's bandaged left hand silently moved up to touch his neck.

“…Why did you do it?” Kakashi finally asked.

“Because I needed the power!” Sasuke burst, whirling toward Kakashi with a sudden vehemence that almost took him aback. “I wasn't getting strong enough in Konoha! I had to do something!”

“You know that seal won't help you in the long run if you rely on it,” Kakashi said firmly.

“Bullshit,” Sasuke spat back.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke continued. “That's not true. I've seen it. I've seen how powerful it is—and I needed it.” His voice turned suddenly bitter. “I trained nonstop here for five years, and where the hell did it get me? Nowhere.”

He cut off, drew in a sharp breath, and then as he let it out, closed his eyes and suddenly seemed to just deflate.

“…I'm never going to be strong enough,” he said at last, his voice quietly defeated. “I'll never be able to beat him. Not on my own, like I was trying before. I'm not… I just can't.”

“You're wrong,” Kakashi stated, and Sasuke looked back at him tiredly.

“That curse seal… did you know, all it really does is draw out your own real power? Power that you would eventually be able to use on your own with enough time and training?”

He met Sasuke's eyes seriously, and the boy stared at him, stunned.

“You can beat Itachi,” Kakashi said at last. “And you don't need Orochimaru's help to do it. You can do it, if you train until you master your own power.”

He stood up. “And I'll help you do it, but only on one condition. …You promise not to run away again.”

Sasuke closed his eyes, and was silent. Silent for so long, in fact, that Kakashi turned with a sigh and was just about to leave the room when, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, he finally heard his answer.

“…All right.”

Kakashi turned to meet Sasuke's eyes one last time, and saw uncertainty still, but overshadowing that, a quiet determination. He held his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

I believe you.

He turned to step out the door, then remembered at the last moment and called back, “And there are two Anbu squads patrolling outside, just so you know. More than last time, so I'd appreciate it if you kept yourself out of trouble for now.”

Sasuke looked back at him un-amused, and Kakashi gave him a little wave. Then he closed the door and set off toward the Hokage's chambers, leaving his student alone with his thoughts.

---

Though all of the highest-ranking shinobi played a small role in the politics of the village, there were only two official advisors to the Hokage: Homura and Koharu. They had been the Third's teammates in their youth, and nowadays served as an auxiliary branch of the Konoha government. It was in fact Homura and Koharu, along with the daimyo of the Fire Country, who had designated Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage after Sarutobi's death, and they continued to play a substantial counseling role in the Hokage's affairs. In truth, they had much more influence than most were actually aware of.

And as such, it was these two people, along with Jiraiya and the Hokage herself, who Kakashi now had to convince that Uchiha Sasuke was neither a criminal, nor a threat to Konoha.

Fortunately, the task was not quite as daunting as it potentially could have been. For all that Sasuke had done—or nearly done, anyway—the fact remained that even now, the Uchiha clan name still held a lot of weight. Moreover, Sasuke was still young, and that coupled with the tragedy of his clan proved to be extremely effective when it came to earning sympathy. And just as Kakashi had predicted, the fact that Tsunade herself had personal experience with Orochimaru's gift for manipulation also proved helpful to his student's case.

No, the truth was that convincing the Advisors to grant Sasuke a pardon was not the real difficulty at all. The real challenge that Kakashi now faced was to convince them that Sasuke, given the chance, would not simply try to leave all over again.

And that part of it was not quite so easy. Because even though Sasuke's word had been enough for Kakashi, it was going to take just a bit more than that for him to re-earn the trust of everyone else.

“…It's a problem,” Tsunade said at last after Kakashi had concluded his report.

"The real question is how, short of locking him up or keeping him under 24-hour guard, we can actually guarantee that he'll stay put,” Jiraiya mused.

“Yes, that's undoubtedly the issue…” Homura nodded as he considered. Kakashi eyed him closely; of all the people present, he suspected that Homura would be the most difficult to persuade when it came to what Kakashi had in mind. For that matter, Koharu was only slightly less of a challenge. On most issues, the two generally tended to be of the same mind, and in Kakashi's experience, both could be reluctant to take certain risks.

And as he'd expected, Homura did not disappoint now. “…Under the circumstances, however,” the aging man continued slowly, “…I think we do need to consider that Uchiha may be better off kept under lock and guard for now.”

“Doing that will only make things worse,” Kakashi put in firmly. “Sasuke already feels that he isn't getting anywhere closer to his goal by training in Konoha. If you lock him up and take away any chance he has left of getting stronger, you'll also be taking away the only reason he has left for staying here at all.”

“It won't matter if he has no choice but to stay,” Homura countered. “And considering the circumstances, that is the only way to ensure that he will not simply wait to take his chance, then slip away again and end up in Orochimaru's hands. Short of eliminating him entirely, that is.”

“That's enough,” Tsunade said sharply, and for a moment the room hung on the threatening tone of her voice.

“…I think Konoha has done enough to the Uchiha clan,” Kakashi said very quietly.

There was a heavy pause.

“…Of course. I apologize, Tsunade,” Homura said at last.

“It's pardoned. But that's enough.” Tsunade met each of their gazes in turn with a serious and almost defiant glint in her eyes. “I will not consider either execution or long-term imprisonment as a means of punishment in this matter. That is final, and I will not speak of it again. I won't make any concessions on this issue.”

“That's all well, then, Tsunade, and I agree with you,” Koharu acknowledged, speaking up at last. “But the fact still remains that we need to decided on some course of action. Clearly we can't simply leave him on his own as if nothing had ever happened.”

“And with Konoha still in its weakened state, we can't afford to keep him under Anbu guard indefinitely,” Homura added.

Koharu nodded. “Our resources are stretched too thinly as it is; we need the Anbu out taking missions and keeping up appearances, not standing guard over a genin. On top of that, we already have them dealing with other looming threats like the Akatsuki.”

“About that,” Jiraiya interrupted suddenly, and all eyes turned to him. “My latest intelligence-gathering efforts have uncovered some interesting news about them, as well as Orochimaru. It seems that neither of them will be much of a danger for the next two to three years at least.”

“What do you mean?” Tsunade asked after a pause.

“I mean that according to my intelligence, the Akatsuki won't be making another attempt on Naruto anytime soon. It seems they've determined that he doesn't yet pose a threat to them, so they plan to focus their efforts elsewhere for the time being. As for Orochimaru, he got impatient and decided, since he couldn't have Sasuke's body, to simply take another one. And I know for a fact that once he uses that particular jutsu of his, he can't attempt it again for at least three years.”

“…You have proof of this?” Homura questioned.

“My sources have confirmed it, yes,” Jiraiya assured. “The information is reliable.”

“It doesn't mean that Orochimaru won't still try to make a play for Sasuke, though,” Tsunade said thoughtfully, her brow furrowed in concern. “Even if he's of no use as a vessel for the time being, he may still decide that he wants Sasuke himself, and time to mold him into whatever he chooses.”

“Exactly,” said Kakashi. “And that's why it's crucial that we get through to Sasuke first. The threat of Orochimaru won't disappear overnight, which is why we need to ensure that whatever we do to deal with the situation, it's aimed at the long-term. Simply putting Sasuke under guard won't solve anything. We need to hit at the heart of the problem, so that the next time Orochimaru comes calling, Sasuke will refrain from leaving of his own free will.”

There was a brief silence. Finally, Koharu asked, “So what exactly do you propose, then, Kakashi?”

“Let me train him,” Kakashi answered.

“…But you already are his instructor,” Homura stated with a frown.

“Hardly,” replied Kakashi. “At least not anymore. As the Godaime-sama can bear out, like every other shinobi in this village, I've been swamped overtime with missions since the recent invasion. I've hardly had time to sleep, let alone teach my students. And consequently, this means their training has started to fall by the wayside.”

“So what you're suggesting is that we allow you to take time off from missions specifically to train Uchiha?” Homura said dubiously.

“Specifically, to train him and to serve as his guard,” Kakashi expounded. “Since, as you quite rightly pointed out earlier, the current use of Anbu there is a waste. If you do need a guard, it only makes sense to get a single man who can do the job rather than sacrificing eight who are needed elsewhere, wouldn't you agree?”

He waited, and when he finally saw Koharu nod thoughtfully in accord, he knew he had won this round.

“It does make sense,” the elderly woman conceded. “And it's the most viable out of all the options we've considered thus far.”

“I have one question, though, Kakashi,” Jiraiya put in, looking at him critically. “Where exactly does this plan place your other students?”

Kakashi returned his gaze coolly for a moment. Then, finally, he asked, “Well, am I to assume by this point that you've taken Naruto on as your own pupil?”

For a moment, Jiraiya was silent.

“…For all intents and purposes, yes,” he finally replied.

“Well, then,” Kakashi said, his tone betraying none of the sudden odd and unfounded resentment—slight, but tangible—that he felt at hearing the toad sennin acknowledge it, even though it couldn't be helped and was partly his own fault to begin with. He turned to face Tsunade, and continued, “And can I assume that what I've heard about Sakura is also true?”

Tsunade had already closed her eyes and was nodding in consent, knowing what was coming. “Yes. I accepted her as my apprentice.”

“…Then that's that,” Kakashi said finally. “So this way, all three will be accounted for.”

At last, Homura motioned his head in acceptance. “Very well. If the rest of you agree, then I consent to putting Uchiha Sasuke under Kakashi's custody until further notice.”

“Not under my custody,” Kakashi corrected casually. “Just my supervision.”

There was a slight pause.

“For all intents, though, they're the same thing,” Koharu stated. “…Unless you mean to say that Uchiha would not actually be under your keeping?”

“I don't intend that to be the case, as a matter of fact,” said Kakashi. “Though I definitely agree that he shouldn't be allowed to stay anywhere on his own for now, under the circumstances.”

“Where do you propose putting him, then?” Tsunade questioned, and Kakashi smiled.

“What I propose,” he answered, “is killing two birds with one stone. What Sasuke needs to relearn more than anything else now is teamwork. And since we can't yet risk letting him be on his own, I think he would most benefit from staying with a member of his own team.”

Jiraiya slowly raised an eyebrow.

“…Putting the two of them together again?” he said at last. “You're sure that's a good idea?”

“More than that, even; I think it's essential,” Kakashi replied. “For both of them. And from a strategic point of view at the very least, it makes sense to keep the two of them together, since both are still targets at the moment. Not that I don't trust your intel,” he added quickly, “but there's always the chance that the Akatsuki may change their minds. And putting Naruto and Sasuke both in one place minimizes the necessary amount of security.”

Jiraiya crossed his arms for a minute as he considered, then finally gave a sigh of relent and glanced over at Tsunade. She nodded.

“…Very well, then. So it's settled.”

She stood up, then added resignedly, “And let's just pray the two of them don't end up trying to kill each other again.”

---

-to be continued-

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Jinchuuriki - Power of human sacrifice; basically, someone with a demon in them, like Naruto or Gaara
Sennin - Sage; hermit

(Both terms are pretty standard, but just in case…)

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Author's Notes:

I'm trying to be as accurate as possible in the details of this fic, so let me know if something is off. The description of Homura and Koharu is based on what I've gleaned from going over the manga, but I think it's more or less near the mark. As for what Kakashi says about the curse seal, that's based on information from the second databook. But yeah, if there's something I missed or screwed up, please call me on it.