A Hole in One's Heart [Kakashi Hatake]

Chapter 20: Behind the ANBU Mask

And let the finals of the Chunin Exams begin:

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     During the last two weeks before the final exam, I liked to go and watch Naruto train with Jiraiya. I kept my distance (and a very unflattering shirt on) the whole time. Jiraiya, of course, knew that I was there enjoying the show, but Naruto was completely oblivious. Sometimes I wonder how he became a ninja; I wasn't even that well hidden...

     Four days before the final exam, I was making my way to my perch just in time to see a gigantic red toad leap out of a chasm with a screaming Naruto on his back. I jumped down next to Jiraiya.

     "Of all the toads in Mount Myoboku, he just had to summon that one..." Jiraiya shot Gamabunta a wary look. "He is going to chew me out for letting that kid sign the summons scroll."

     I laughed, "Shouldn't a ninja not be afraid of their summons?"

     He glared at me, "Do you have any summons yet?"

     "No..."

     "Like I thought, you really don't kno- HMPH!" I cut him short with a glare and solid punch to the gut. "So, how did Naruto do it?" He looked down at me expectantly.

     "He told the Nine-tails to pay his rent in chakra." We both laughed over that one.

     "His rent? Sometimes that kid is too much..." I nodded in agreement. Jiraiya then turned deadly serious in an instant, "The final exam is coming up, have you seen anything new yet?"

     "You have asked me like five times already! I already told you, I will let you and the Hokage know if I remember anything. Besides, if I remembered a lot at once, you'd know."

     "How?"

     "I wasn't just in the hospital for chakra drain... I saw... Well, I remembered all of Kakashi's past at once, and the strain that it put on both my mind and body on top of the chakra drain that I already had was what put me into the hospital. I was unconscious while it happened, but, according to Hansuke, I had a really bad fever and a seizure of sorts near the end of it. So if I start to remember things, I am sure that you will be able to tell." Jiraiya's mouth was open so wide that I half expected it to hit the ground.

     "I didn't know that it was that much of a strain..."

     "It was only that bad because of the incredibly large amount of information that I remembered. As stuff happens in real time, I just simply remember it again. It is so subtle that I wouldn't even notice it if I wasn't looking for those memories. And most of the time when I remember random things from the future or the past, I just get a really bad headache. Also, certain stimuli can induce visions; I didn't remember Kakashi's past until I looked at his sharingan." Jiraiya looked up when Gamabunta landed in front of him. I was grateful for this because he was staring at me very intently, though not in a pervy way for once. Jiraiya took the scroll off his back and rolled it out so that the large toad could see Naruto's name on it.

     "So what that kid was saying is true. Damn you, Jiraiya, but what an impressive kid; no one has ridden on my head since the Fourth." Everyone turned their attention to the passed out Naruto. "Hmm, he's out of strength from calling me... Well, I could share my power but taking him to that place would be best." And with that Gamabunta went off towards the hospital.

     "I am going to go and make sure that he's okay." And with that, I left the Toad Sage standing there deep in thought looking at the name "Minato Namikaze" on the scroll in front of him.

     Naruto was out cold, but the doctors assured me that he would be awake by the time the final exam came around. Anyone else would probably be hospitalized for about a week with that level of chakra drain (I'm looking at you, Kakashi), but Naruto's fox chakra would allow him to heal in about two to three days.

     I arrived in the stadium early to get good seats, and as I walked in and looked at the filling stands, my temples throbbed.

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     People were sleeping the stands, and there were small pockets of ninjas fighting. On the roof above the Hokage's seat there was a purple barrier, and the inside seemed to be filled with a dense forest. Flashes of water and fire jutsu were visible between the trees. Three ANBU stood outside the barrier calling out to the Hokage with worried voices.

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     My eyes snapped open, and I almost collapsed. 'I need to tell the Hokage right away!' Turning away from my seat, I frantically began to think about who I could tell this to. 'Kakashi? Jiraiya? No, I don't see either of them! The ANBU stationed in the stands; they can get the message to the Hokage!' I rushed towards an ANBU member wearing a hooded black cloak and a plain mask with a downwards facing red triangle on the forehead and two strokes of red under each eye. My head smarted again as I had a brief vision of him healing Hinata, and I figured that meant that I could probably trust him.

     "Sir," I said frantically, "I need to speak to the Hokage right away, it's urgent!"

     "Oh, you're Ana, right? The ninja from the alternate dimension... If you have a message I can deliver it to the Hokage. I can't take you to see him because he is currently greeting the Kazekage, but we ANBU have our methods. I will make sure that he gets your message right away." He gestured for me to follow him away from the mass of civilians, and once we were in an empty hallway he turned to me. "What's your message?"

     "We are going to be attacked by both the Sound and the Sand! The Hokage is going to be trapped in this purple barrier with a wood style user, which is impossible because the First Hokage is dead! That's all I saw, but he needs to plan accordingly."

     "Hmm, so Lord Orochimaru's theories were correct, you really are window to the future. He'll be delighted to know that this experiment was a success. And he's able to trap the Third Hokage? How exciting." My heart froze and my palms became clammy with fear, 'Lord Orochimaru...' The ANBU removed his mask, revealing the face of Kabuto Yakushi. For the third time that day, pain racked my body. Flashes of him talking to Lord Orochimaru and Baki danced in front of my eyes. And then I saw the deaths of Dosu the Sound Ninja at the hands of Gaara and Hayate Gekko at the hands of Baki. I passed out cold before I even had time to realize that those events had already occurred and I should have remembered them a while ago.

     "I will hide you here until I am ready to collect you after the exam." Was the last thing that I heard before I fell from consciousness. 

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Sorry about how short this is, but it is kind of hard to write in some one's POV when they are passed out cold... The next chapter is also going to be pretty short, sorry, but it going to be a new POV! You'll have to wait until then to see who's. (I know, I'm mean ^_^ )

Edited 4/13/2016