Hideo withdrew his shuriken from his pouch and launched them into the air. A quick pull later, felt the satisfying resistance in the wire as they began to wrap themselves around his assailant. He had him.

"Raiton!"

Hideo dropped the wire. The crackle and flash of lightning jutsu travelled down the metal and Hideo was thankful lightning chakra didn't travel at the same speed as the real thing.

"Suiton: Suidon no Jutsu!"

Hideo smirked as he watched Seiichi expell a torrent of water towards the ninja, their opponent receiving a mild electric shock from their own jutsu. The smirk didn't last as the Sound ninja, now free of Hideo's wire. was able to flash through the hand seals for an earth jutsu. Hideo scrambled backwards and felt a sense of unease at the smile the ninja sent his way. The overbite had somehow made the grin more unsettling.

As Akra used the pause in battle to engage the ninja in taijutsu, Hideo assessed the field around him. They were being toyed with. Ryuu was still down. Hideo doubted he'd get up again.

To his right, Sakura was fighting a Sound-nin a good two heads taller than her. Though she had avoided major injury thus far, she hadn't been able to hold her ground.

Hideo took aim and threw his shuriken, only to have it diverted by "Overbite."

A cry from his left had Hideo diving out of the way and retaliating with a tagged kunai. Dirt from the blast momentarily blinded him. He threw another volley anyway, his ears guiding him. Finally able to see again, he felt his heart speed up as he glanced in Sakura's direction. She was being herded away from them.

By the look on her face, Sakura knew it too.

Hideo made to move to her side, only to be pulled down by an earth jutsu. Frustrated, he slammed his hands against the ground to push himself up. He didn't have time for this. She didn't have time for this. None of them did.

Though the earth barely went past his waist, he couldn't break free. Panicking, he started stabbing the ground with his kunai to try and loosen the dirt. I can't die here. Not like this.

A yell from Seiichi was soon followed by a rush of water. It was just enough to loosen the dirt and Hideo pulled himself free. Panting, Hideo looked up to watch his teammate swallow a soldier pill and, in the distance, the sight of Sakura slamming into a wall. She looked dazed. Hideo feared the next blow.

As he ran towards her, he was relieved to see her henge into an alley cat and run. The Sound ninja looked happy to give chase.

Clenching his teeth as he ran after them, he found himself tumbling to the ground. For a few heartbeats he was confused. Then the burn in his leg set in. He had been hit.

Turning back to his remaining teammates, he saw Seiichi on the ground and Akra standing protectively in front of him. We won't last like this Hideo thought. He popped a soldier pill as Seiichi lit the flare and threw it in the air.

Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger, his hands flew the familiar seals and he expelled the chakra in his chest. The Sound ninja dodged most of the blast. Though the back of his shirt was on fire, it wouldn't be enough Hideo thought.

Luckily it didn't have to be. A pair of jonin dressed in familiar olive flak jackets landed in the middle of the road. They wasted no time engaging the Sound ninja and brought the fight to a decisive end with a slash to their opponent's throat.

The deep satisfaction the sight brought may have unnerved Hideo under other circumstances. It was a visceral thing and he had no doubt it showed in his face when he nodded to the jonin who saved them.

"His partner chased our teammate down that way," he indicated.

The kunoichi and shinobi who had responded to the flare, nodded and took off.

"Ryuu's dead." Hideo was unsurprised but sill grimaced when Akura confirmed it.

"Take his medpack. We'll likely need it."

Seiichi closed Ryuu's eyes as Akra bound his leg. They were upset and did a poor job of hiding it.

Hideo rose and headed after the jonin. "Let's go find Sakura. We'll have a stronger formation with four of us." No one objected to the order. No one suggested Sakura might not be alive or that they may find another stray genin to take her place. They simply nodded and followed on his heals.

Despite their best efforts, it quickly became apparent that they had lost her trail. Hideo cursed himself for not memorising his team's chakra signatures while they were holed up while that geriatric civilian healed. Their only consolation was that they found the corpse of the ninja who had chased her.

The team of genin returned to herding civilians to the shelters after that and luckily the fighting didn't become quite so dire again. The tide of the battle had turned and a handful of Sand and Sound ninja ran past them without trying to engage, eager to head back through the break in the walls. If guarding civilians, the genin often elected to let them pass, but when unencumbered, didn't hesitate to launch a kunai at their back. Soon most of the kills they made were to enemies who were already heavily injured, simply needing someone to give them a final nudge into the Death God's embrace. Hideo was happy to oblige.

Kakashi stared numbly at the corpse in front of him. The weariness and guilt at not having saved someone a familiar weight on his shoulders. Why am I always too late? The Third Hokage was dead.

As the last of the invaders were eliminated from the stadium, more jonin and ANBU dropped beside him to see the evidence for themselves. After a few initial words of shock, each of them fell into silence. No one moved to touch the man and yet neither was anyone willing to leave, content to take a moment to acknowledge the enormity of it all. The Third Hokage was dead, killed by his own student.

It would later occur to Kakashi that perhaps he should have been using this time to hunt Orochimaru down in his weakened state. Orochimaru could no longer harm his leader but he had still been a threat to Sasuke at the time. Despite all this, Kakashi doubted he would do things differently. Some habits were engrained too hard and wasting time apologising to the dead was one of them.

When ANBU he knew and trusted finally came and started to secure the body, only then did Kakashi leave. The enemy had sounded horns to retreat but they were not yet gone. He shushined to the streets and fell into a familiar rhythm, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. Distantly, a part of his brain registered the presence of Gai beside him, even though he was no longer giving cries of youth. It was a thoughtful gesture and a sign of comradeship that didn't quite touch him.

His mindless slaughter of the enemy only stopped when he felt a presence that haunted so many of his nightmares and more recently, a mislabelled escort mission. The Kyuubi. Like everyone else around him he stilled at the horror and realisation, the sheer hate and killing intent being radiated overwhelming. All the little hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood at attention. The dismay only doubled when he remembered the chakra beast had been sealed inside Naruto.

Kakashi turned and saw the beast beyond the village limits. It was gigantic, towering well above the forest. I forgot it was so large. How could I have forgotten when that day haunts me so? Already, Kakashi could see five tails. At least one tail beyond where the host would likely see reason. Naruto. He sped in that direction. The Hokage was dead, the fighting continued in the village, but they would still need someone to stop the beast. Kakashi would have gone regardless. He wasn't going to abandon his team.

With a deafening raw, Kakashi saw another monster join the first. The Ichibi. Two jinchuuriki fighting so close to the village was a security nightmare. Even during war, leaders were reluctant to unleash the full force of their living weapons. It was why his sensei had been able to become so much more famous than his wife as he could not say with any certainty which of the two had the greater potential for destruction.

The two behemoths battled it out and thankfully the Kyuubi seemed to gain the upper hand. When the fox finished a final brutal bite, Kakashi felt a sudden rush of potent, maniacal chakra rush towards him. It felt reminiscent of his hand through a teammate's chest and broken promises.

Any hope that things would turn for the better died in his throat as instead of calming down, the Kyuubi then cast its gaze towards the village. Not again, Kami, never again! Kakashi picked up speed. Hopefully he and his fellow ANBU could together recreate the same purple barrier that entrapped their Hokage, to entrap the fox.

A sixth tail appeared. Kakashi's countenance somehow became even more grim. Containment may no longer be an option. If the fox completely freed himself, nothing short of a life could reseal it. He realised he may have to give his life for that endeavour and the thought didn't bother him. He had felt dead inside for a long time now. Leaving ANBU, gaining his genin hadn't completely changed that.

Ultimately, the choice wasn't up to Kakashi as Jiraiya reached Naruto first. He could only watch on as the Sannin gave his life to subdue the beast and somehow alter the seal. His respect for his favourite author only grew as he came across them both lying on the ground.

He sealed Jiraiya's body and picked Naruto up, cradling him to his chest. The boy was unconscious and wounds covered his entire body that were already healing with the red chakra's aid. Nothing hid the boy's clear agony despite being dead to the world around him. Naruto is alive. I haven't failed him. I haven't failed sensei's son. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and started making his way to the village only to find out how wrong he was.

Pakkun stepped into the path in front of him and with a start Kakashi remembered that he had two of his genin in the area, had sent his friend's student here as well. "I'm so sorry Kakashi," Pakkun said.

Reading his expression. Kakashi swore he heard something inside him crumble.

When he got to Sasuke's broken body, there was a peace in his expression that Kakashi had never seen in life, not even in Sasuke's sleep. Kakashi did not want to leave him there but he did not want to put him in a scroll either. Eventually he manoeuvred the boys so that he carried one over each shoulder, the contrast between the life in one boy and its absence in the other disturbing in a way few things in his life had ever felt.

When he entered the village, he wandered at random with no clear destination in mind, never letting go of the genin on his shoulders. He could have been wandering for hours for all he knew and didn't stop until he was approached by an ANBU man in a cat mask. The man murmured something to him in a low voice that he didn't process and his hands tightened on the boys. Eventually he handed over Sasuke. Had it been anyone but Tenzo it probably wouldn't have happened. He couldn't help Sasuke anymore anyway. His failure to Sasuke was complete, lasting and eternal. He wasn't willing to give Naruto up though, refused to let him go. He picked up the occasional word like 'hospital' and 'seal' but that was it. Finally, someone had had enough and with a jab to a pressure point at his neck, Kakashi was enveloped in darkness. He didn't fight it. He hoped he never woke up.

Life apparently aimed to disappoint Kakashi as he woke several hours later. He woke in an ANBU base, which surprised him as he hadn't been ANBU in years. The frenetic energy in those around him was different from the norm but a hunched form across from him was calmly sharpening a katana.

"Finally up I see." The man did not look at Kakashi or speak any further.

The worn mask was familiar, he had run missions with the man in the past.

Kakashi lay back down. He noticed someone had already removed the scroll containing what was left of his favourite Sannin. He didn't want to go anywhere. He just wanted to lay there wishing he was dead.

Eventually his companion halted the whetstone and cocked his head at him. "Are you really going to just lay there?"

"I wish it had been me," he replied with an honesty about his feelings that he rarely displayed.

"I know. Why do you think you woke here? Why do you think I'm sitting here watching you?"

So, I've been put on suicide watch again. Kakashi let out a sigh. They're not even trying to hide it.

The man continued "Still I must admit I am still surprised. I thought you would have been eager to be roaming the village helping search and rescue with your pack. Then again maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're not the man I thought you were."

"What makes you think I would be eager to do anything?" Kakashi tried to snarl but more than anything it came out tired.

Here the man once again looked up at him with a sympathy in his voice often foreign to those who donned the mask. "Because one of your genin is still unaccounted for."

Kakashi stiffened and then was quickly out the door. How could I face Sensei's son if I lost them both?

It was dark out. Fires among the wreckage provided sources of light, while weeping and moans of pain filled the night. Smoke, death and blood drenched the air, providing less than ideal conditions for his ninken.

The pack was undeterred though and found person after person crushed under the rubble. None of them were Sakura. Though he searched for it, he never felt her familiar chakra signature nearby. He waved the torch in his hand to get a better view of the area around him. For all that he privately had despaired at his genin's dress sense and colouring, he found himself grateful for Sakura's pink hair. He looked for it in the corpses and injured around him, brushed the dust out of light-haired children's hair and took a second glance at those whose hair was drenched in blood.

It was the not knowing that was the torture as all who had stood at the gates waiting on a late comrade knew. He felt relief at each corpse he identified as not hers and anxiety that he couldn't confirm she was okay. He's sure she would have been at the stadium to watch the boys' matches but he did not find her there. None of the other Rookie Nine had seen her either, though he did confirm Shikimaru had made it out alive. At least he wouldn't have Asuma hate him for that. None of the Rookie Nine had enquired after his genin's health bar Ino, Hinata's shy demand inquiring into Naruto's health and oddly enough Shikimaru asking after Sakura. The first question Inoichi's daughter had asked him had not been about Sasuke but about Sakura and though grieving, she took Sasuke's death in stride in a way she hadn't the unknown status of his team's lone kunoichi.

A ration bar and chakra pill he unthinkingly ate that someone had pressed into his hands kept him going through the night, but by daybreak he had yet to find her. Sakura had not been skilled the way her teammates were and he was not confident he would find her alive.

The light of day made identification of bodies easier and he walked the rows of corpses of those from Konoha providing the occasional name where dog tags were missing or the physical features were too badly damaged to make identification of civilians easy. I can't bear to lose another teammate. Not finding Sakura among the dead he headed to the hospital and makeshift medic camps. Eventually, finally her found her.

Unable to be discharged and having wounds serious or long-term enough to warrant it, Sakura was lying in a cot. Her arms were bandaged and her chart informed him of lacerations on her back. The most concerning injury was a blow to the back of the head that was being closely monitored. She was not expected to wake for several days but the prognosis suggested she would make a full recovery. Kakashi gave a sigh of relief and his body released some of the tension it had been holding. Having confirmed what he wanted to know, Kakashi did not linger. He stumbled to the makeshift ninja camp and collapsed asleep on one of the hammocks provided. Thankfully, he did not dream.