Ketsueki no Tsuki

01. Return

"I could let you try and kill my loved ones, but they're all dead already."

Rin, Obito, Minato sensei, Tsuki - everyone.

And the worst of them was Tsuki because he had willingly been the one to kill her. He had left her behind, had let her go. Because all he could think of back then was getting revenge. And now this boy...

"Sasuke, forget it."

Because if he didn't, the curse would consume him. Forever. And he'd end up like his teacher, his failure of a teacher.

An eagle distracted him.

'Lady Hokage?'

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"You summoned me, ma'am?" The elite ninja walked in the office.

"Yes," the Hokage hesitated, "Tsuki's back, Kakashi."

The last time he had been so dumbstruck was on finding his father dead, and that was over twenty years ago.

The Hokage decided to fill him in on the matter without further delay.

"This morning she somehow teleported here, and she wasn't in a good condition. However she had the badge of our village so I admitted her immediately. After assuring that she can recover, I've been digging her files. Tsuki Hatake, supposed to be dead five years ago, after she fell down an active volcano that erupted shortly after We'll be able to gather more information on her when she gets better. Till then, all I can do is inform her closest relative, that is, you as... ... Kakashi?"

'She's... Alive...'

His knees buckled as he struggled to stand upright.

'Tsuki...'

"... Where is she?"

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It took two full days for Shizune and the medical ninja to revive the almost dead Tsuki, and even after that, she took another two days to regain consciousness. And he knew he had to be back before that. Because all he had ever done was hate her.

And months later, when he looked back at what he had done, did he realise it all.

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The mission to the Valley of The End had been shorter than he thought, so, when the water-style ninja opened her eyes, she saw familiar white hair and heard deep breathing.

The slight movement woke him up. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Kakashi looked away, ashamed, sad, guilty.

"Tsuki, I... I'm sorry-"

"-Don't."

Kakashi shut his eyes for a brief moment.

"You need to hide me."

"... Who is after you?"

"The Mist Village will come running in soon, looking for me. Just like they came when I first came here. All of you need to put up a good act, saying that I have always been here. You are an elite ninja, yes? Have you been assigned students? At least inform them. We need to do this immediately-"

"-Tsuki."

"..." She didn't meet his eyes.

"You've been out for five days. You haven't been home for five years. They marked you dead a long time ago. Nobody has come. You're safe. It's okay."

"... Why... "

"...?"

"... Why're you... Being so polite." She fidgeted, "this is unlike you. Put down the act. I became used to your cold heart a long time ago."

"... I have a lot to say to you,"

"..."

Kakashi took her silence as permission.

"All you ever did was try to make everyone happy, to fit in, and to live a normal life, to make me comfortable. All you ever did was understand and be kind to everyone. And all I ever did, was hate you. I've been a horrible person, but I need you to know, I'm better now. I've learnt a lot, and I still am. Revenge led me nowhere, but caring for others did. Tsuki, I'm sorry for everything I've done. I know this isn't something I can ask forgiveness for. So all I can do is pledge my life to you. For all the heinous things I did, blinded by rage and revenge, I'm terribly sorry. I lost everyone who was close to me. The one person who did come back, you, I don't wanna lose you too. I'll protect you with all my life. I understand if you hate me-"

"-I never did."

"..."

"I've never hated you. I had loved you, a long time ago, therefore I was sad, broken. But a shinobi (ninja) sheds no tears. I had been asked to use you for protection. And you were just a tool that didn't work. And that's okay. I'm capable of defending myself, now that I've trained enough to be able to use the secret techniques I discovered. At the level I am, I can easily kill trained chunin (middle level ninja). I expect to recover and leave for my next mission as soon as possible."

Silence pervaded as something turned in Kakashi.

"... I'll notify the Hokage that you've woken up."

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I've always wanted to write a Kakashi fanfiction. I really hope you like it!