Sown

twenty-two

Hanae teetered on the border of shell shock, tiptoeing the thin line between instability and astonishment. After much heartache, she had come to terms with the fact that Konoha had been utterly annihilated. The hospital where she had taken so many people had been bulldozed. The few who survived the shockwave were those scattered on the rim of what used to be.

And after sobbing her soul out, Hanae had come to terms with the fact that Kakashi had passed away.

But now as she stared at the three massive toads centered in the crater that used to be the village, she felt herself spiralling back into madness. So much had happened that day, so much that the former samurai couldn't begin to understand.

"Naruto!" The boy, Choji Akimichi she had learned his name to be, yelled out in triumph beside her.

"Who is Naruto?" She had remembered hearing the name before on the night Kakashi had asked her on a date to Ramen Ichiraku.

He turned to her, tears once again in his eyes. "Naruto is my friend. He might not be the smartest guy but he's the strongest shinobi I know! He's . . ." Choji paused and glanced at the fallen jounin, "he was on Kakashi-sensei's team."

Hanae squeezed Kakashi's frigid hand ; she had not it let go since rebreaking her arm in the attempt to resuscitate him. "So Kakashi taught him everything he knows?"

"Well, he also trained with Jiraiya-sama. He was one of the sannin, the three strongest shinobi of Konoha. But he was killed just a few days ago."

More death. How much more could Konoha handle? Hadn't there been enough already? It was the endless cycle of the shinobi world, death by the hands of greed and war. The Land of Iron was so peaceful and Hanae wondered if she had made a mistake in leaving.

She recoiled in shock. "Killed? But you just said he was one of the strongest. Who could have killed him?"

Choji pointed to the crater where the blonde boy had appeared. The man she had seen earlier stood there surrounded by five others, all strikingly similar. "He did."

Sadly, it made sense. Only a man that could destroy an entire village without so much as a blink of the eye could kill one of the most revered ninja of a village with the strongest military might.

"He was the one Kakashi-sensei fought, the one he saved us from."

Hanae felt rage boil deep inside of her. It was him. He had been the man who had caused her such agony, such loss and strife. He had destroyed their home, stolen the lives of so many, and now he stood in the aftermath without a care in the world. After all he had done with no reason, he presented himself to what remained. A symbol of hatred, a harbinger of death, an embodiment of raw pain.

If only she had acted sooner. If only she had snatched him from the sky he stood on above her at that moment, Konoha would still be standing. People would no longer be suffering. Kakashi would still be alive. And Hanae wouldn't be so utterly bereaved of happiness.

One of the toads leapt from the crater and landed hard on the rubble on the opposite side. The shaking roused the unconscious overweight man still on the ground. He sat up with a hand clutched to his head and a loud groan.

"Dad!" Choji cried and embraced the man. He embraced back, shock painted across his face.

"Son," he rasped, looking sluggishly to Hanae who nodded in a bow. He returned the gesture, turning his attention to Kakashi's remains. "Is . . .?"

She shook her head. Her throat swelled as sobs again forced their way out. "No. He's gone," the woman choked between gasps, raising the hand in her grasp to her chest in an attempt at comfort.