Fallen Leaves (Formerly Kakashi: No Regrets)

smint45: I love Itachi and Kakashi so much that it's emotional for me to write.I had to give Kakashi one last night with his raven.
DarkAngelJudas: ^_^ Well, Sasuke and Kakashi will be together; Kakashi will lose Itachi no matter what.
Siside2018 and Prescripto13: Thank you, this one of my favorite stories.

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Madara ‘called’ during the night, waking Sasuke up. He didn’t like talking with Madara while he was naked even if the projection Madara would see would be wearing whatever Sasuke wanted it to, but Sasuke didn’t want to wake Kakashi who had his arms wrapped around his waist tightly and his cheek pressed against Sasuke’s shoulder blade.

Sasuke accepted the metal connection.

“Pein is dead,” Madara said without preamble.

“That’s very unfortunate.”

“I need you to capture the Kyuubi.”

“I will do it.”

“I thought you were against the idea.”

“I’ve had time to think it over. I have no loyalty to him. I will bring him to you. I might destroy half the village while I’m at it.”

“Apparently, Pein destroyed the village, but there were no causalities.”

“How is that possible?”

“Their Hokage is the most skilled medical-nin in history, that must be why.” Sasuke knew the real reason, but didn’t let on.

“I’m glad this is all almost over. I will be happy to become close with my last kinsman once you establish peace.”

Madara softened, his eye showing some fondness. “Ah. Leave for Konoha as soon as possible.”

“I will bring you Naruto.”

The connection was cut. Sasuke opened his eyes. Kakashi was still fast asleep behind him.

He tried to go back to sleep; he would need his rest.

-----

The three of them perched on a tree branch outside the radius of destruction.

“Suigetsu, have fun. But don’t kill the Jinchuriki.”

“How do I recognize him?”

“Blond, blue eyed. His signature jutsu are using far too many shadow clones and a ball of chakra. What did he call it?”

“The Rasengan,” Kakashi said. “And he has a new one. Looks like a whitish blue ball with shuriken like blades.”

“Shit,” Suigetsu said.

“Yeah. It’s devastating.”

“Just run and find us,” Sasuke said. “Lead him to us. He’s ours to capture.” Sasuke was looking toward Suigetsu and saw something beyond him. The Uchiha shrine. It was surrounded in ruble, but it had survived. Greif and rage welled up in him. “Kill everyone else.”

Their attention was pulled upward as a bird flew overhead then straight for the village.

“They know,” Suigetsu said.

“Good.”

-----

Naruto ran into the house where they had kept Tsunade since she collapsed. He hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re awake, baa-chan!”

“Naruto.” She embraced him. “They told me what happened. I’m so proud of you. Jiraiya would be proud too.”

He hugged her tighter. “I met my father. He was the one who tighten the seal on the Kyuubi.”

“Huh?” She pulled back a little.

“He sealed some his chakra in me and I was able to speak with him.”

“I wish he and your mother had lived to raise you, but you turned out just as they would have hoped.”

A shinobi ran in. “Hokage-sama! They’ve been sighted. They’re here. Three of them.”

“Them?”

“Sasuke and Kakashi.”

“There were five before.”

“The woman and the big guy weren’t with them.”

“Prepare everyone for battle, get the civilians out!”

Naruto paled.

-----

Suigetsu had already taken off. Sasuke stood on the branch with Kakashi crouched next to him.

“I think I should announce ourselves,” Sasuke said. “Only polite, don’t you think, Kakashi?”

Kakashi didn’t say anything or move even as two platoons were clearly coming at them; he trusted Sasuke. A dozen shuriken and kunai flew at them and still Kakashi didn’t move a muscle. Sasuke’s sword deflected them all. Kakashi’s normal eye tightened at the clanging metal two inches from it, but otherwise remained still.

As the Konoha shinobi came closer, Susanoo grew up around Sasuke and Kakashi. Susanoo prepared his arrow and shot it into village in front of the fleeing civilians. He missed, but his intent was not to kill them, just scare the living shit out of them. Which he did.

The shinobi approaching them stopped and fell back out of fear. Susanoo disappeared and Kakashi leaped into action. Sasuke jumped in after him.

-----

Yamato held Naruto back as the slaughter commenced. Tsunade sent Sakura and Shizune along with Katsuyu to get people out and to heal them. Tsunade was ready to stand her ground in the middle of the rebuilding village.

“Naruto, leave,” Tsunade urged. “They’re with Akatsuki; they’re here for you. Get out of here. If they get you, Akatsuki will have all the bijuu. Go!”

“I can’t leave. They may want to capture me, but they’re here to destroy the village. It won’t matter if I leave.”

“I don’t want you to have to fight them!”

“Maybe if they capture me, they’ll spare the rest of you.”

“Not fucking likely,” said another voice.

They whirled. Sasuke. Kakashi was behind him, killing masked ANBU.

“Yamato, get Naruto out of here!” Tsunade ordered as she took a stance.

Naruto struggled, but Yamato wrapped him in his wood jutsu and carried him off. Sasuke and Kakashi watched, but didn’t go after them. Naruto would come to then in due course. They turned their eyes on Tsunade. ANBU jumped out and attacked the pair. They were not phased and automatically counterattacked.

Kakashi used Itachi’s ANBU sword. The familiar sword surprised the younger ANBU who were not aware of Kakashi’s history. Gripping the sword Itachi used, not only used day to day as a member of ANBU, but the sword he used to carry out the mission that had destroyed their three lives, he felt fresh rage. He channeled the rage into the most precise, almost clinical, killing.

As she was running out of ANBU, Tsunade joined in. Kakashi jumped away from her and took advantage of his new position to attack Sasuke opponent, freeing Sasuke to move or fight Tsunade. Kakashi took over all the remaining ANBU while Sasuke turned his attention to the Hokage.

Sasuke’s Eternal Mangakou could see everything Tsunade intended, including her gathering chakra in her hands. Kakashi finished off the ANBU and joined him, his own Sharingan showing him the lethal chakra. They used their swords to keep distance. Every once in a while in their long fight with the powerful Sanin and Hokage, another shinobi would move in and one of the avengers would break off to take them out. The pair never let themselves or the other be caught off guard by them or Tsunade. They were in perfect harmony and never had to speak or signal to each other.

They were so perfectly in sync that they each took off one of Tsunade’s hands with their swords sparking with Chidori. She fell to her knees. There were four shinobi out of range, paralyzed, watching their Hokage lose her hands. They watched as Kakashi grabbed her by the hair.

Tsunade looked up into Kakashi’s eyes. “I didn’t want you executed,” she said. “We had no choice, it was treason.”

“This has nothing to do with that, with me. This is about Itachi.”

Sasuke cut off her head. Sasuke straightened and he looked very much alive and almost relieved. Killing the current Hokage—a replacement for the Third Hokage who was already dead—felt like it was the final step. The slaughter from now on was just icing on the cake. He looked over at his lover and there was an almost crazed, non-sexual lust. Bloodlust and glee.

They turned their attention to the four frightened shinobi. One ran away, the other three died. The pair didn’t run after the fleeing man, they turned their attention to more immediate victims.

-----

The young shinobi happened by chance to run in the same direction as Yamato. He found Yamato and Naruto.

“The Hokage’s dead!” He was so frightened and pumped full of adrenaline that he ran off. He would spread the news.

Yamato froze in shock. Naruto felt the anger building. He broke out of Yamato’s bindings. Yamato was a moment too late to stop him.

-----

It seemed like everyone was dead. There were a few fires among the destroyed buildings and nothing else moved around them. They could hear screams, but they seemed far, far away. Sasuke trudged over the open land beyond the small cluster of rebuilt houses. He looked at the barren dirt of the crater. He heaved deep breaths to calm himself. Kakashi was a few feet behind him. He watched Sasuke’s form. He was majestic. He really loved the little avenger. He looked liberated. Alive. Almost at peace.

Then they both turned. They could feel Naruto coming. Kakashi was between them when Naruto ran out from behind the buildings, but Naruto and Sasuke’s eyes locked.

“Move, Kakashi. Stay out of it, just keep anyone from interfering.”

Kakashi moved away without responding. Kakashi’s protection wasn’t needed. Once the fight started, no one wanted to get close. Naruto made two clones to stand by and gather Senju chakra. But Kakashi was after them in a heartbeat. Naruto had no backups. Sasuke seemed to have limitless chakra. Even the Rasengan Shuriken was nothing against Susanoo. Seeing that that was Naruto’s most powerful technique, Sasuke smirked evilly. Naruto was his.

Like a well fed cat with a mouse, Sasuke attacked without any intention of even hurting Naruto, just wearing him out. Naruto collapsed. Sasuke let Susanoo drop and walked up to Naruto who tried to strike out and failed. Kakashi moved closer to protect his lover from the shinobi who would come once they realized Naruto was in trouble.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto up by the collar and offered him a kunai. Naruto looked at it, but didn’t take it. Sasuke grabbed his hand and pressed the kunai in then aimed the kunai at his own heart. Naruto was frozen. Sasuke leaned in.

“Itachi once told me that I couldn’t kill him because I didn’t have enough hate and that I never would. He was wrong; it’s almost all I’ve got left. You are the one who lacks hate. You can’t kill me, am I right, Naruto? I have no such compunction. I will kill everyone in Konoha. And I will kill you, but not now. You’re too valuable as a Jinchuriki. If you want to save them, save yourself, you have to kill me.”

Naruto gripped the kunai and stared into Sasuke’s eyes. They were black now. Naruto couldn’t do it. This was his best friend, the boy he looked up to for so long and loved, though not in a romantic sense. They had saved each other’s lives several times. How could he kill him?

“You really joined Akatsuki? You and Kakashi?”

“Don’t talk like you know anything about it. You have no idea why I joined them. Kakashi had little choice, though neither one of us are real members yet, we’re just working for them now.” Sasuke pulled back and fished out the necklace on which he strung Itachi’s ‘scarlet’ ring from his shirt and showed it to Naruto. “I’m not a true member of Akatsuki until I put on this ring. You don’t want to make me put it on.”

Curiosity overriding all, Naruto asked, “What will happen if you do?”

“Everything will be out of my hands.”

That awoke a glimmer of hope in Naruto. He understood that Sasuke had some other plan, he wasn’t completely under Akatsuki’s sway. Maybe this was all for show. But Sasuke had really killed people. It wasn’t like with Pein; Sasuke couldn’t bring those people back to life. But maybe there was some way to save Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sasuke’s attention was ripped from Naruto as Konoha shinobi surrounded them. Kakashi prepared to defend them.

“We don’t have time for this,” Sasuke snarled, he used up a lot of chakra dealing with Naruto. He looked back at Naruto and an idea emerged. Before Naruto could comprehend what was about to happen, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and they both found themselves in that damp basement before the Kyuubi’s cage.

The Kyuubi formed out of the boiling water. Fully formed before them, Kyuubi gave Sasuke a sniff.

“Uchiha. I didn’t think chakra could become any more foul, dark, and sinister. You surprise me. There is nothing but hate about you. And bloodlust. You are indeed a worthy successor to Madara. More sinister and powerful than even him. Will you finally take your clan’s revenge on this heir of the Senju?”

“I don’t care about that,” Sasuke told him. “Madara is alive and wants to capture all the bijuu in order to fuse you all together and recreate the Ten-Tails. I assume you don’t want that. You seem too fond of yourself for that.”

Kyuubi chuckled. “You are right.”

“Then help me.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke in astonishment.

“An Uchiha asking for help?” Kyuubi asked mockingly.

“Naruto has tight control of you now, but I need to get out of Konoha with him. Unless he’s willing to use some of your chakra, I’ll have to make him let you out partially. And I need you to obey me.”

“With that blasted Sharingan of yours, you don’t need to ask me.”

“But I am.” He turned to Naruto. “You see, either way, I get what I want. Your comrades are surrounding us and I don’t have time to kill them all. I will threaten to unleash the Kyuubi on them unless they allow Kakashi and I to take you with us. I can either use my Sharingan on you to back up my threat or you can just use some of Kyuubi’s chakra to do it. I’ll even promise to cease attacking the village. We’ve killed most of them and those I hated the most are now dead. Konoha is but a shadow of itself. If you resist, I give you no guarantee anyone in Konoha will live.”

“Sasuke—”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

Naruto looked into Sasuke’s red eyes and saw no compassion at all. There was nothing. His eyes were harder than even he had ever seen. Perhaps there really was no hope for Sasuke. Everyone else was right about Sasuke: he was lost. But for the sake of the village should he take the offer? Was Sasuke truly only worried about the time, or did he really fear the shinobi surrounding them and Naruto himself? With his sage mode, Naruto might really be able to stop him. He might be the only person in the world who could. He came to a decision.

“No.”

Sasuke didn’t react except to turn to the Kyuubi even before the word was fully out. “Cooperate with me and I’ll help you survive.”

“I agree, Uchiha.”

“I’ll put a genjutsu on Naruto and keep you on a short leash. Remember, even if you break from me and kill me, Madara and his Sharingan wants to—in a sense—destroy you.”

“Fine.”

“We have a deal.”

They returned to the outside world. Only a moment had passed.

“Kakashi, hold!”

Sasuke’s Sharingan made quick work of Naruto and the Kyuubi’s chakra leaked out to form the cloak. His chakra was suppressed enough to ensure the seal was solid, but Kyuubi had control of Naruto’s body, though Sasuke held the reigns.

“I’ve weakened the seal on the Kyuubi,” Sasuke announced. “Come closer or hinder our escape and I’ll weaken the seal even more. Naruto’s safely tucked away in a genjutsu; he can’t help you. Kakashi, fall back.”

Kakashi obeyed and moved backward closer to Sasuke and the chakra cloaked Naruto. The other shinobi did not move.

Sasuke looked at one man and pulled him in a genjutsu. “Go find Suigetsu. Tell him ‘Sasuke has yogurt,’ and lead him here. Go.” The other Konoha shinobi let the man go, anything to speed up these rogues’ retreat.

Kakashi release a small laugh at the phrase Sasuke has chosen. “It was the only thing I could think of to make him believe the man was my messenger,” Sasuke said. “Suigetsu’d do almost anything for yogurt.”

“Like your brother and sweet dangos.”

They and the Konoha shinobi stood at a stalemate until Suigetsu arrived. “Where’s my yogurt?”

“When we get back to base. We’re falling back; we got what we came here for.”

Sasuke turned to the west and walked away confidently with the Kyuubi following, just hoping someone would approach, and Suigetsu and Kakashi cautiously bringing up the rear. No one stopped them.

Not far away, Sakura and Shikamaru watched. They could not let Naruto die.