Mend my Mind {Kakashi Hatake}

49 | hurry hurry

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"Ah, Teren." I glanced up from the endless mountain of paperwork I was trying to get through when I saw my former classmate enter the Hokage's office.

"Hey, Kakashi." He held up a scroll in his hand and placed it on the desk. "My mission report. Wait, should I even be giving this to you? You haven't been inaugurated yet..."

I shrugged. "If Tsunade found out you chased her down just to give her a mission report when I was just sat here signing paperwork, she'd be furious. Best not to question what I should and shouldn't technically be allowed to do right now. How was the mission?"

"Boring on my own."

"I can imagine. Unfortunately we've never had such a shortage of-"

I was cut off by a heavy thud coming from behind me. Teren was much faster to react and had already Body Flickered to the window in time to catch his son as he stumbled inside.

"Damaru." Teren lifted the young Genin to his feet. Damaru was visibly exhausted, his clothes were battered and the soles of his shoes were badly worn down. His breathing was uneven and almost as shaky as his legs were.

"Kakashi." He looked past his father straight at me, eyes puffy and red from crying. "It was a trap the whole time, Sensei's been taken and I don't know what happened to Iko and Shizuka, she sent me back here to get backup and she told me to run as fast as I can and not stop, but even though I tried really hard I couldn't make it back as fast as I wanted to and I don't know what happened to-"

"Slow down." I put my hands on his shoulders. "They've taken Miyoshi? Who has?"

"The Grass ninja. I don't know what happened to Iko and Shizuka, Miyoshi-sensei told me to go before I could hear what she told them to do. But she said we would all be in danger if we stayed there and that she'd give herself up-" he broke off suddenly and fell forward into my arms.

"Shizune!" I yelled over my shoulder, hoping she was near enough to hear. "I need a medic, now! Shikamaru, I need you to go and find someone - anyone - who is prepared to leave for a rescue mission right now. Anyone you can find."

Shikamaru, who had been in the corner of the room organising files, gave one nod to show he'd understood and hurried out of the room. A few moments later, Shizune came rushing in.

"Kakashi, is everything okay? What happened?"

"Damaru overexerted himself badly, I need you to look at him."

While Shizune started to work on Damaru, I pulled out my communication scroll to check if Miyoshi had left a message, but it was blank.

"The scroll was on the table," Damaru said, noticing me checking. His voice was hoarse, but there was a little more life behind his eyes now that Shizune was applying her medical ninjutsu. "Miyoshi-sensei couldn't get to it because if she'd tried, the enemy ninja would have killed us. She only barely managed to get us out by using a teleportation jutsu on all four of us, but she couldn't get us far. She's really not in any condition to fight right now, and Iko's been getting better lately, but not enough to fight off four elite ninja with just Shizuka for help."

"It's alright," I told him, hoping it was. "As soon as Shikamaru's back we'll head off and go to their rescue."

"Count me in as well, Kakashi," Teren spoke up. "I haven't been assigned my next mission yet, so I'll join you."

Shikamaru came back as I nodded to him with Hinata and Tenten in tow.

"There aren't many ninja available right now, but Hinata and Tenten had the day off today and agreed to take on an emergency mission," he explained.

"Shikamaru told us Miyoshi's in danger," Tenten said. "We're ready to help however you need us to."

"We should leave straight away." Damaru struggled to his feet, pushing Shizune away.

"You're not coming with us." Teren crossed his arms and gave his son a stern look. "You need to go home and rest. Let the adults handle this now."

Damaru glared at his father. "That's not your call to make."

I felt both of them turn to me.

"Kakashi, there's no way you can allow this. He's only a child, and he needs to recover from what he's been through already."

Damaru didn't react to Teren's words. There was a burning fire behind his eyes now that I recognised, and I knew what he was going to say to me before he even opened his mouth to say it. "There is no way in hell I'm abandoning my teammates out there! I'm coming whether you like it or not!"

"Damaru." I put my hands on my hips and locked eyes with him. He was still glaring back defiantly. "I'm assigning you as captain of this mission."

"He's a Genin!" Teren protested immediately. "And a rookie at that. You can't let him lead a mission this important-"

"That's the decision I've made," I interrupted. "Damaru is a Genin, yes, but he's just as intelligent and loyal as any one of us here. Besides, he's the only one who knows the full details behind what happened to Team Four and where they were last seen. Out of all of us, he's best suited to lead this mission." I glanced down at Damaru and nodded to him. "You let us know what to do, and we'll follow your lead. But if you need any support, I'll be your second-in-command."

"Alright." Damaru glanced past me at Hinata and Tenten. "What am I working with here?"

"Hinata here is a member of the Hyuga clan. Her Byakugan can see everything. Tenten specialises in ninja tools; she's mastered just about every different type of weapon that exists."

Damaru nodded. "Okay. In that case I'll take the front; Dad, you follow right behind me. Kakashi and Tenten, you keep an eye on either side, and Hinata watch our back with your Byakugan."

"Lead the way, Damaru."