Team Tragedy

A Naruto Fanfiction

Author: ElderxChildx6, Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.

Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)

Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)

Prologue

Kakashi sighed as he made his way through the streets of Konohagakure. Making his way back to his house after having completed his latest mission. Reading one of Jiraiya's many R-rated books as he walked. He had originally planned to go to his older brother's house after his mission to spend time with his niece and nephew. However the mission took longer than he had originally anticipated. It was night when he finally returned, and he knew that his niece would be asleep. And if his niece was already asleep, Kakashi knew that his nephew would either be sleeping, as well, or he would be out continuing his training.

"No point in going over there, now," Kakashi told himself as he turned the page to continue reading. "That's a fight I would rather avoid."

Kakashi and his older brother, Kojaku, never were able to see eye-to-eye, even after they grew up. Their mother had died giving birth to Kakashi, which made Kojaku hold a grudge against his younger brother. Blaming Kakashi for their mother's death. After their father died close to the end of the Second Shinobi World War, Kakashi even broke their father's chakra blade, the White Sabre. Kojaku and Kakashi had never fought for so long before and even after that day. Kojaku even kept the shards of the broken blade with the intention to one day fix it, but no matter how hard he tried, he never could. To this day, Kojaku still has the broken chakra blade. Still hoping to fix it.

After Kojaku and his wife, Keihaku, had their oldest son, Animaru, Kojaku and Kakashi agreed to not fight around Animaru, or any of Kojaku's future children, should they ever have more. So the tension between Kojaku and Kakashi was able to be put on pause around Animaru, and then Len when she was born nine years later. Kakashi enjoyed the short peace he could get when his niece and nephew were around to prevent his brother from fighting with him, since it was always Kojaku who seemed to start most of the fights they'd get into.

Animaru... That boy was a prodigy. Though it took him a little longer than it did Kakashi, Animaru was able to go from Ninja Academy Student to joining the ANBU Black Ops in a matter of four years. Graduating from the academy and passing to Genin at age ten, then passing to become Chunin at age eleven, advancing to Special Jonin at age twelve, advancing to Jonin at age thirteen, and finally joining the ANBU units at age fourteen; just last year. Most of the Hatake clan believed that Animaru was the new favorite to their guardian spirit, the White Phoenix. The ones who believed in the spirit's existence thought so, anyway. The select few who didn't believe in the spirit amongst the clan simply believed that Animaru had gained the Kekkei Genkai of their clan. Animaru, himself, preached differently.

When asked Animaru claimed that he did not have the Hatake clan Kekkei Genkai, and though he did believe in the White Phoenix, he did not believe that their guardian was watching over him or even picked him as his favorite. He simply believed that it was his hard work and constant training that got him to where he was, today. If the Phoenix was watching over him, it clearly did not go to his head like it had Kojaku and Kakashi's father, Sakumo.

Sakumo had been what most of the clan would call the spirit's last favorite, before they started to believe Animaru was in the spirit's favor. Sakumo had believed he was the favorite to the guardian spirit so much, it had cost him the mission he was supposed to do. Sakumo was supposed to assassinate one of the enemy's leaders close to the end of the Second Shinobi War. However during the mission, his fellow teammates had been captured because they had been careless. Sakumo, believing the Phoenix would allow him the speed to do both, saved his squad members. This act cost him the mission, and believing that he had fallen out of the spirit's favor, Sakumo took his own life.

It was because of this that Kakashi stopped believing in the guardian spirit. If Sakumo had been the spirit's favorite, why would it allow Sakumo to fail the mission he was on? Close to the beginning of the Second Shinobi War, Sakumo had prevented the enemy from advancing past the checkpoint they had taken by himself for three days while his squad members went back for reinforcements. If Sakumo could do that, why couldn't he complete a simple mission and save his teammates at the exact same time?

As Kakashi continued on his way home, a memory flashed through his head.

Flashback

"Uncle Kakashi!" Animaru called as he rushed over to the silver-haired ANBU. Hearing his nephew call his name made Kakashi turn to look at him. As soon as Animaru got to his uncle, he continued. "I need to talk to you."

"Animaru, I'm about to go on a mission," Kakashi informed the silver-haired teen.

"I know, I know," Animaru said in a rush, "I'll wait until you get back, but just know it's really important. It's about Len. So make sure you hurry back from your mission as fast as you can. If I'm not at home, just ask mother or father where I went. I should be training if I'm not at home."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright, Animaru. I'll try and make it back as soon as I can."

End of Flashback

That's right, Kakashi thought as he snapped his book closed and put it away. Animaru had something he wanted to tell me about Len. Might as well make my way over there and see what it is.

As Kakashi walked closer to his destination, however, he saw a glow of light off in the distance. Eventually, he could also smell smoke. At first, Kakashi really didn't think anything of it. He simply thought there was someone out late cooking outside. But as Kakashi drew closer to the Hatake clan compound, he started to feel heat. Like something was burning intensely. Once the compound came into view down the street, Kakashi's uncovered onyx eye widened in horror.

Flames. The entire Hatake clan compound was consumed in a massive fire that burned brightly against the dark night. He could feel the heat of the flames from where he was standing, and he was a good ten meters away from the fiery mass. At the sight of it, Kakashi only had four things on his mind. His immediate family.

Just as Kakashi was about to charge into the burning mass to look for them, a familiar voice stopped him.

"It is futile, Kakashi," Sarutobi's voice broke through the sound of the crackling flames. Making Kakashi pause and turn to look at the old man who was now standing behind him. The Third Hokage seeming to appear from out of nowhere. "Your fellow clan members are dead, including Kojaku and Keihaku."

"What about Len and Animaru?!" Kakashi demanded. Almost in panic. "Are they alright?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes and faced the ground. His expression appeared saddened. "Len is not doing too well," he began. "She has severe burns running her entire body. Naruto told me shortly after he had taken her to the hospital. He found her just outside his house not too long ago.

"As for Animaru" the Sandaime went on, opening his old eyes to look at the silver-haired ANBU standing before him, "well...I can explain later. Focus on Len, for now. We can discuss the details about Animaru when you have seen her and are more calm."

"Which hospital is she in?!" Kakashi demanded. Practically shouting at the Third Hokage.

"Naruto took her to the hospital two blocks west and one block to the south of here to get her injuries treated," Sarutobi answered. "I'll tell you now, your niece looks pretty bad. I suggest staying in Konoha for a while so that way you can be with her and help her to recover."

Kakashi nodded before he raced past the Hokage to the hospital. He didn't need to be told twice. As he rushed off to the hospital, he saw a few ANBU units head towards the direction of his clan's compound.

"Please try not to stress her out or excite her in any way, Mister Hatake," the nurse told him as they stood in front of Len's hospital room door. "She's already worked herself up quite enough, this evening."

Kakashi gave the nurse a droll and incredibly impatient stare. Mister? What am I? My father? "I'll try to keep her as calm as possible," Kakashi assured her. "But I'm warning you all, now, I'm not leaving except to go look for a new house, tomorrow. This means I will be spending the night here, until she recovers."

"But... Mr. Hatake... The visiting hours-We're not-"

"You can try to tell me otherwise all you like, miss," Kakashi interrupted. Glaring down at the nurse. "My entire clan has been murdered and my house has gone up in flames. Like it or not, I have nowhere else to go. Len is the only family I have left. That means I am not leaving her side until she has recovered, except for to find a new house for us to live in. Surely you all can make an exception, hm?" he suggested, even as the tone of his voice implied that it was in fact an order and that he would be staying whether they liked it or not.

With that, Kakashi slid the door to Len's hospital room open, stepped inside, and slid the door shut behind him before the nurse could say another word. Kakashi slowly made his way into the room, and once Len was in view, he looked at his small niece in shock.

From what he could see, Len's arms, upper torso, neck, and most of her face were wrapped in bandages. Her eyes and mouth were uncovered, as well as a gap under her nose so she could breathe through her nose. Kakashi could only assume that Len was wrapped in bandages from her chest down, just by looking at how she looked like a mummy from what he could already see. Her platinum-blonde hair was singed in some places, but her hair looked damp from when they had to wash her to clean and treat her burns. That was something at least, if her hair had survived then there was a good chance that rest of the damage wouldn't be more than superficial for the most part.

Kakashi, thinking that Len was already asleep with her eyes being closed, crept closer to the small row of seats for the visitors to sit in. Though, the moment Kakashi was halfway to the chairs, Len's eyes slowly opened to reveal her navy-blue irises and turned her gaze to her uncle.

"U-uncle Kakashi..." Len trailed off in a strained voice. The sound of her saying his name made Kakashi jump slightly before he turned his head to look over at the small child in the large hospital bed.

"Oh, hey kiddo," Kakashi said softly as he turned fully to face her. I guess that means there wasn't too much heat damage to her lungs, he thought in relief. "I thought you were asleep. I… I didn't wake you, did I?"

Len shook her head ever so slightly. If Kakashi wasn't paying close attention, he would have missed it. "N-no... I was j-just...r-resting my eyes..." she told him. Her eyes then scanned the room. "W-where is he?" she demanded.

"Where is who, Len?" Kakashi asked. Looking down at her with confusion.

"T-that b-blond haired b-boy..." Len answered. Returning her blue eyes to his uncovered black one. "T-the one who b-brought me h-here..."

"Naruto?" Kakashi guessed. "He probably went home shortly after he brought you here."

"U-uncle Kakashi... O-our clan… they..." Len's eyes began to water as she looked at her uncle. Her throat catching as she thought about what had happened.

"Shhh," Kakashi soothed as he stepped closer to Len's bedside. "I know, Len. I know. You need to calm down. You've already worked yourself up enough. You need to stay calm and rest."

"B-but... A-Animaru, he-"

"Len, stop," Kakashi ordered in a gentle voice. "I already know what happened. I know who caused it. Don't work yourself up over it, anymore. Just focus on resting so you can get better, okay?"

Len stared up at her uncle for a long moment before she finally nodded. "O-okay..."

"Good," Kakashi said. "Now, get some sleep, Len. It will help to speed your recovery."

Len nodded faintly before she closed her eyes, once more, and drifted to sleep. Kakashi watched her for a few moments before he turned and walked over to the chairs and sat down. As he sat there, he allowed everything that had happened to finally sink in.

His entire clan - except for Len, Animaru, and himself - were all dead. Animaru was somehow involved. Considering how Len wanted to tell him. Why? Why would he do such a thing? Sure, Kakashi didn't get along with Kojaku, but that was no reason to want him dead. Though they never did see eye-to-eye on anything, Kakashi knew Kojaku still cared for him, because Kojaku continued to take care of him after their father killed himself. Kakashi even still cared about Kojaku, even though Kojaku's arguments always annoyed and stressed him out beyond belief. Animaru had no reason to kill them. Animaru was loved by everyone in the clan. More than half believed him to be the spirit's new favorite with how fast he moved up the ranks and then joined the ANBU units. His father and mother loved him. What was his reason?

Kakashi looked back over to his sleeping niece. Looking at the extent of the damage she had received. She had third and fourth-degree burns covering her entire body. The doctor's didn't think she was going to make it past tomorrow with the extent of her injuries. Did Animaru intend to kill even Len? Len was his "shadow". Whenever Animaru wasn't on a mission, Len was following him around everywhere he went. Animaru even started training her to be a kunoichi at four years old, a year before she even entered the Ninja Academy. Why would he attempt to harm her?

Unless… were Len's injuries an accident? Animaru had succeeded in killing everyone else. Everyone except for Len. Could he have not meant to injure her when he attacked their clan? Or was it something else? Could he not bring himself to kill her? Why kill them all in the first place?

Kakashi sighed tiredly, shifting his gaze down to the floor as he thought it over. Regardless of what had happened, Kakashi knew one thing to be certain.

He needed answers. He needed answers from Animaru. Tracking him down was going to be a challenge, but it was something he had to do. Nothing about this made any kind of sense, and he needed answers. However, because Animaru was nowhere to be found, he couldn't get answers from him just yet.

So Kakashi would have to settle for the next best thing...

What does the Sandaime know...?

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