Sorry, Naruto. -Kakashi

Stage Six

Sasuke awoke as a hawk cawed and the light rained into his eyes. He lifted his eyelids and was instantly met with bright sun. Sasuke scrunched his eyes and sat up. He sat alone under a tree somewhere near the edge of the Land of Fire. It seemed risky, but he was currently suppressing his chakra, and he was pretty confident in his battle technique. It wouldn't be hard to silence them, even after his stunt the other day. That was a rage.

6 days ago he had been wandering near the border, lost in his anger and thoughts. There he had come across a team of 3 genin and a jonin. It would've been easy for Sasuke to slip past them without being noticed, but he had been aggravated then. Sasuke decided to take his anger out on them, and gain a bit of practice. He had even gotten a little playful, using high level techniques just for fun.

It had been easy.

But regardless, his question still had not been answered. The question he had been pondering ever since he had killed Naruto.

It was too easy. So why did he let me win?

Sasuke was angered that Naruto let him win, and the fact that he didn't know why made it even worse. He wanted to win and kill him in a fair fight. Only that way would he truly have proved his strength. He beat Naruto, the strongest ninja in the Shadow Nations. But he had won only because Naruto gave up. Why did he give up? He was the one shinobi who had never given up on anything, if it was Sakura, or an impossible fight. That's why he was the strongest. That's why he always won. Naruto was unwilling to give up and always pushed through and persevered, winning the battle even in impossible odds. Sasuke had to admire that about him. And he almost missed it.

But Naruto was dead now, and not because he had been overpowered. Instead because he gave up. Maybe he knew that it would mess with Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke would beat himself up over it, in peril over the fact that he won for no reason. His true test ruined and gone. If that was true, Sasuke would've praised him for being so clever, but Naruto wasn't that person. He was willing to die with Sasuke, but not have one of them die alone. And he wasn't willing to kill Sasuke either. If he was, he would've been long gone as soon as Naruto would've started tracking him down.

So why... Why did he win? Why did Naruto lose so effortlessly?

Kakashi sat up in his bed, staring at the picture of team 7 perched upon the dresser.

The moon reigned high in the sky with midnight light, illuminating the streets. Despite the time, the street beside Kakashi's home was bustling, the izakayas and restaurants were alive with customers.

He usually could drown this out and sleep just fine. Which was no different today. What kept him up today was his thoughts and regrets. There was no escaping them, no matter how tired you were. Kakashi often wondered if he would be the last one again, Naruto dead, Sasuke gone, and if Sakura died... Or maybe he would die instead, and Sakura would suffer his fate. He would rather the first. How he felt, alone, when his team died, he would never wish it on anybody. Even Sasuke.

Sasuke had not resurfaced since his stunt a week ago. Trackers had been unable to locate him, though they believed that he was still in the Land of Fire. That was good, it meant that it would be easier to find him. Though he wondered why Sasuke had not left Konoha territory yet. Kakashi had assumed that he would run back to his new team, minus Karin. But perhaps he wanted to be alone. Or maybe he tried to kill them too. Whatever way, the fact still stood that Sasuke was a threat, and a large one.

He killed children, women, citizens, Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Naruto. And it made Kakashi furious. Sasuke had caused every member of this village pain, serious or not. And he couldn't revive anybody as Nagato had. The people he killed were dead. They weren't coming back.

Everything was because of Sasuke. All of the pain and suffering he received in the past year was Sasuke's fault. Sasuke was everything. And everywhere.

Chidori, Sasuke. His sharingan, Sasuke. The ruined buildings, Sasuke. The funerals, Sasuke. Naruto's tattered headband, Sasuke. The very photo that sat above his dresser, Sasuke. Everything was him. And everything was his own fault. Now he would pay for it.

Kakashi stood from his bed and walked to the dresser. He pulled his vest on, tied his headband, and slid on his sandals. Kakashi scribbled out a short note for anybody who may wonder what happened to him, but not anything that would reveal exactly what he was doing. He took the photo of Team 7 from its frame and folded it before sticking it into his pocket, along with Naruto's headband. The door opened, and Kakashi left, disappearing into the night.

People often talk of the 5 stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. All of which Kakashi had experienced many times in his life. But never had he given in to the sixth, unknown stage. Revenge. Something he should've turned to as soon as Rin died. That would've saved him a lot of suffering. Maybe then he would've never joined Team 7. He would never have to feel the pain of losing one of his students.

Now he stood in the forest just outside Konohagakure, the stone faces looming high behind him. Kakashi hadn't even bothered to make sure his departure was unnoticed. He passed the sensing barrier without taking any precautions. They would come after him, but it didn't matter. The Will of Fire would drive him now, as he started what he should have many years ago. Revenge.

Hey! I hope youre having a great day or night, and are having fun reading my story. I put a lot of work into it to make it a great one, so please feal free to give criticism so that I may make this even better! I will also be posting the next chapter in a few minutes, as I've finished both.

Thanks for reading!