"Tch. Just how much do you dislike me."
Mitarashi Anko spoke casually to her former teammate. Hatake Kakashi forced a crescent eyed smile through the pain. "Mm, you've been here long enough anyway. You should head back and rest."
It was a polite dismissal on the surface, but Anko understood exactly what he was thinking. That look she gave him, half contempt, half pity, cut sharper than words. Kakashi had once hated being looked at like that. Now, he barely reacted. Status, pride, reputation, none of it mattered anymore. If it meant these people would stop losing their minds, he would've knelt and licked the ground without hesitation. Unfortunately, even if he did, it wouldn't stop them from spiraling. So he endured it.
Anko folded away her mission order and strode toward the exit without hesitation. At the doorway, she waved lazily. "Kakashi. Not sure when we'll meet again. You've always been the same, out of sync with everyone. You were like that as a kid, and still are now. But that's just you." She paused. "Just don't treat useless things like they matter so much. It won't help you." Then she was gone.
Kakashi stood still in the corridor. Useless things? His mind began to spiral. Was that Anko's thought, or Shimura Danzo's? If it was Danzo's intention, then what did it mean? Useless things meant lives, didn't it? Was this a warning, or abandonment? A cold fear crept up his spine. No. That can't be. I have to protect them.
He started pacing. What had he done wrong in his missions? From assassinations of Land of Fire officials to targets in Land of Earth, everything had been completed flawlessly. Efficient. Precise. Perfect. Danzo had shown no dissatisfaction. So why? What had he missed? He forced himself to think harder, to dig deeper, to find the flaw. But there was nothing. Nothing at all. And that nothing became unbearable.
His breathing quickened. His body shook. Then, KCH! He coughed violently, blood spilling through his mask and dripping onto the floor. Mitarashi Anko would never know that a single casual sentence had made him collapse like this.
Tenten had seen Anko leave and came to deliver the news to Yahiko, or rather, to those she was helping within the facility. But instead, she saw him. Kakashi. Collapsed. She froze. The last time she had seen him, he had still been composed, even smiling while standing amid chaos. Compared to that, this version of him, coughing blood on the ground, was unrecognizable. Even someone like Might Guy could've won against him like this. She hesitated, should she help him, or leave?
Before she decided, Kakashi rose on his own. A crescent eyed smile returned. "Yo, kid. You know it's against regulations to act on your own right after supervision leaves." He assumed she was an ANBU operative. She wasn't.
"T, that's, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were here, senpai!"
Her voice sounded familiar. Kakashi tilted his head slightly. "Tenten?"
She froze. "Yes!"
Recognition clicked. "Why are you here? Who sent you? How long have you been here? Does Guy know?" Each question came like a barrage.
Tenten panicked. "I just kind of ended up here by accident." A very unconvincing lie.
Kakashi understood immediately. No ANBU trainee would accidentally end up in a place like this, especially not one of Guy's students. This place was for dirty work, classified work. If she stayed here, her future would be stained no matter what she did. He sighed. "Does Guy know?"
"No, he doesn't."
Of course he didn't. Danzo wouldn't sabotage the village's future, and neither would the current leadership recklessly waste a promising shinobi. So this must have been her own decision. He exhaled slowly. "There's no point turning back now."
Tenten flinched. "What are you going to do?"
She hesitated. "I saw Anko leave, so I thought I'd go tell them." Her hands were hiding something behind her back. Kakashi noticed, but didn't press.
After a long pause, he spoke quietly. "Go ahead."
"Huh?"
His tone softened slightly. "You're still young. I won't comment on the war. But you don't hold any grudge against them, do you?" A pause. "Just, as another girl, don't make things harder for them. Can you do that?"
Tenten's throat tightened. Her eyes stung. She stepped back slightly, then bowed deeply. So it wasn't just me. Falling apart.