Daybreak | Kakashi Hatake

18

Chojuro was a mess of nerves as he ran through the village's cobblestone streets. Why had the Mizukage order him to deliver this message to Mare? As much as he liked Mare, he was ten times as scared of her. Mei had told him explicit instructions to give to Mare and he repeated them over and over again in his head as he neared her home.

He knocked on the door, mouthing his prepared speech as he waited. Whenever she answered, Chojuro's mind went blank and he blurted out, "Kakashi Hatake has been severely injured!"

Mare's face did not show a trace of emotion as she replied, "So?"

"The Mizukage said that you–you would–she said that..." he stuttered before trailing off. Mare remained silent to wait for him to gather his words, "Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha went to Konohagakaure. They faced off with some of the Leaf jonin and Kakashi was severely injured and left comatose by Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Did Mei give any direct orders?"

"She said you would want to go to Konohagakure and make sure Kakashi was okay..."

Mare spoke in a cold voice, "I'm not a medical ninja. There's nothing I can do for Kakashi."

Chojuro's head fell and he clenched his fist before saying, "She said you would go for him! That you cared about him!"

It felt like a ball of lead had settled in her stomach as the young man made this exclamation. She did care about Kakashi, but she couldn't renege her oath to herself to remain focused on her mission. Kakashi being injured was unfortunate, and she knew how deadly Itachi's Sharingan could be, but he would survive–right?

"Mei lets her fantasies run away sometimes, Chojuro. It's best you learn that sooner than later."

She bid him goodbye and closed the door. The moment the lock clicked, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Why couldn't Mei just let this go? Why couldn't she just let Mare focus on her fucking job?

But more importantly–why did she feel an ache in her chest at the thought of Kakashi being hurt?

Mare must have been lost in thought for longer than she realized because a pounding on the door broke her reverie.

"Mare!" Mei shouted in an angry tone, "Open the door!"

"What?" the hunter-nin snapped as she flung the door open.

Mei was fuming, her eyes filled with rage. She sharply questioned Mare, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Mare looked from Mei to Chojuro, who was standing several feet back. Whenever Mare's eyes landed on the kid, his face burned with shame and he dropped his head. She asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You're being stubborn! Kakashi Hatake is laying half-dead in the hospital and you're too busy feigning indifference to get over yourself and go be with him!" The Mizukage's voice was thick, signaling she was on the cusp of tears. She continued, "Stop crawling up on your self-righteous cross and let someone in for once, Mare. You're going to die alone and unloved if you don't."

Mare's jaw twitched. She tried to maintain her composure, but there was too much anger in her soul. Between the lies she knew Mei had told the other day in the Mizukage's office and the rest of the lies she only knew partial truths about, she had reached her breaking point. Mare spit back in a chillingly calm voice, "Fuck you, Mei. What I choose to do outside of missions is not any of your business."

"I refuse to watch you destroy yourself–"

Mare cut her off and shouted, her own voice beginning to choke, "Then tell me the fucking truth about my brother and grant me reprieve! I've suffered every day not knowing. I just need to understand, Mei."

Tears streamed down the Mizukage's face as she shook her head and whispered, "Mare... Please... You don't understand."

"So help me..." she begged, her eyes pleading for the truth. Nothing could possibly be worse than Ezume being dead, and she already had come to terms with the fact that he probably was. What was there left to hide? Mare wanted confirmation and closure. It would be the only thing that would allow her to work through her grief.

"Go to Konohagakure and gather intelligence about Kisame and Itachi's fight with the jonin. See the extent of Kakashi's injuries and send a bird back. Don't return to Kirigakure. Kisame and Itachi have made their first offensive move on Konoha–there will be another. You need to be there and be prepared for it."

"Mei..." Mare protested, her eyes narrowing.

"Mare Nakagawa," Mei answered, her jaw clenched tightly, "This is an order from your Mizukage." 

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So I kinda forgot that Tsunade didn't become Hokage until after this all happened, butttt... I'm not going back and rewriting it all, so just pretend :) It's fanfic anyway, timelines don't have to be perfect, right? lol