Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Authors Note: Hey guys! Wow, it's been a while! School has been eating up every free second I have so I'm sorry this took so long. College is brutal sometimes.

As always, a big thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and/or reviewed, 0golden0, Guest, leenatrq, coriamber2014, Prescripto13, and tabjoy13 for your suggestions and support! I hope chapter eight will be out much faster than chapter seven. Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy!

Lone Wolves Don't Last Long

Chapter Seven: To Open One's Mind

Minato POV

Minato paced restlessly in front of his desk, the bottom of his Hokage's cloak fluttering turbulently behind him.

His stomping feet disturbed a few of the many papers that lay piled in his inbox, sending them fluttering listlessly to the scuffed tile floor.

Shikaku leaned against the wall, arms crossed, saying nothing. He had been watching his leader's silent march for the past fifteen minutes and was beginning to run out of patience.

Finally, determined to be the voice of reason, Shikaku opened his mouth, "Minato, I know you want to believe him, but the evidence just isn't there. You know as well as I do that the Hatake clan-"

"Your right, there's no evidence. But there's no evidence to prove he wasn't attacked either."

"That's ridiculous, and you know it. The only DNA in that apartment is his own. I know you love your student, but-"

"He wouldn't lie in a report Shikaku," Minato argued, his voice beginning to lose its confidence.

"I'm not saying he was lying Minato."

The Yondaime stopped his pacing to look at him.

Shikaku's fingers absentmindedly reached up to tighten his ponytail, "If he was hallucinating he may very well believe that he was under attack. It wouldn't be the first time an anbu has seen things that weren't there. Spending your days on S rank missions under that much stress is enough to break any ninja. Just because Kakashi doesn't know he tried to commit suicide doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't."

Minato leaned against his desk and rubbed his eyes in frustration, "Inoichi wants to do a mind transfer."

Shikaku shrugged, "It's the next logical step I suppose, if you want absolute proof. The Yamanaka clan can distinguish between reality and hallucinations when sorting through memories. Besides, Kakashi was the only one there that night. We can't prove anything apart from his word, and right now his word isn't reliable."

Minato seemed to shrink further, shriveling down into himself, "I don't think I can order him to do something like that."

"You're the Hokage. If it means protecting the village you don't have a choice."

Minato lowered his hand and looked up, "There's always a choice."

Shikaku nodded, "That's true. The question is which choice is right? Risking the lives of your citizens or potentially losing the trust of your student?"

"But…" Minato huffed tiredly, "Kakashi has been the only one attacked so far. I'm not even sure if this is a threat to the village. We don't even know if anyone was there. To force him to allow someone into his mind…"

"Is the only way to be certain." Shikaku said quietly, his eyes closing as he attempted to shut out the pained face of the young Hokage.

"To not give him a choice…He's not a prisoner. This technique is rarely used on anyone outside of interrogation in war times."

Shikaku opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Minato, "And if he refuses and the village is attacked? Or you send the boy home and find him dead the next morning?"

Minato strode back around the table and threw himself into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was going to be a long day.

...

Kakashi POV

A week. It had been a week since he had been sentenced to live under the constant vigilance of the Anbu Black Ops. Kakashi finished organizing the living room bookshelf and proceeded to start on the spice cabinet.

The house was beginning to drive him mad. He needed something, anything, to do besides sit around and wait for the Namikaze's to come home like the family dog.

He picked up a small jar of dill and placed it next to the basil.

What bothered him more than anything was that, for the past week, he had made little to no progress on his investigation. The eyes scrutinizing his every move made it difficult to sneak back to Anbu headquarters for a secretive meeting with Chizuru Nara, A.K.A Anbu Crane, without being detected. He considered once more whether or not he should just report his suspicion to Minato. At this point, his sensei had already begun his investigation. There was a chance he had already looked into the poison.

Kakashi picked up the cinnamon and placed it between the basil and the dill.

Maybe he should tell him. There was no real reason to hold it back any longer. Despite this, something did hold him back.

Minato had been off since the day he'd come to their house. It was something in the way he glanced at him while he thought Kakashi wasn't looking. Something in the way he whispered to the anbu in the backyard, casting furtive glances back up at the blind-covered windows of Kakashi's bedroom. He trusted Minato with his life but...something wasn't right. Minato was an unknown right now. Giving important information to unknowns wasn't wise.

The decision seemed to tear him in half. Part of him argued that he was overthinking things. A piece of him steadfast in its certainty that he could always trust Minato...and yet...the rest of him drew back. It was something about the unnatural hesitance in his teacher's stride. Something in the nagging anxiety that darkened his sharp blue eyes. It was the same nervous ticks that tattled on the enemies who lied to Kakashi on anbu missions.

There was something he was missing. Something big, and it grated on his nerves that he couldn't seem to figure it out.

He wondered, not for the first time what Obito would have done in his place. Most likely, storm the Hokage tower and demand with obnoxious volume to know what was going on.

...

"Oy! Kakashi!" The silver hair chunin turned to see Obito careening across the empty field, "Oy!…Kakashi!…Where's…Rin…and Sensei?" He panted, stopping to double over in front of the unimpressed young Hatake.

Kakashi flicked his kunai at the target, hitting it dead center with a resounding thunk. Obito scowled.

"They left over an hour ago. How are you ever going to survive a mission if you can't even make it to the rendezvous?"

"Shut up Bakakashi! You're not as perfect as you think you are you know!"

Kakashi moved to retrieve his kunai, jerking it free of the splintered wood, "Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so! I'm gonna be Hokage someday!"

Kakashi snorted and breezed past him, shoving his hands deep into his pants pockets.

"I find that hard to believe, seeing as you can't even seem to show up for training."

Obito snarled and aimed a kick at the back of his teammate's retreating head. Kakashi turned, caught Obito's foot mid-swing and shoved him unceremoniously to the ground.

Obito fell with a strangled grunt as his ribcage collided with the earth. The silver-haired chunin watched dismissively as his teammate lay coughing, trying to somehow suck air back into his empty lungs. Taking one last disdainful look, Kakashi turned to leave the clearing.

Suddenly, A loud gurgling noise echoed through the training grounds, silencing Obito's overdramatic wheezing. Kakashi's felt the blood rush to his cheeks and inwardly cursed his stomach. Both boys froze, Kakashi's retreat halting midstep.
For a split second, Obito seemed confused, then with a smirk that appeared to split his face in half called, "You wanna get some ramen?"

...

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Kakashi came to a decision.

He strode back into his bedroom and shut the door. Biting his thumb, he smeared a drop of blood across his left hand and slammed it into the ground, "Summoning Jutsu."

In a puff of smoke, eight dogs appeared before him. The largest of them, after seeing he was in no immediate danger, promptly flopped onto the floor and laid his massive head on his paws.

Pakkun sniffed and looked lazily up at his summoner, the old pug's intelligent eyes glinting suspiciously, "Where are we pup?"

"Minato-sensei's house," Kakashi answered ruefully.

Suddenly the Hatake froze, raising his hand as he turned to the window in exasperation. His babysitters had apparently felt his chakra spike.

"It's just my dogs Cat. I'm fine."

The window slid open, and the porcelain masked face peered around the curtains. Several of Kakashi's hounds balked, a few of them growling warnings at the sudden appearance of the eerie cat mask floating around the drapes.

"Just checking." Tenzo answered lightly, waving to Pakkun before hopping back down off his perch.

Kakashi stood and moved to close the window, hoping that he could have at least one conversation without his overprotective team listening in.

"I had a run in with some shady characters a few days back. Minato-sensei seems to think I'm in need of protection."

"And are you?" Pakkun asked, jumping up onto the bed and sitting next to his hunched charge.

Kakashi shrugged, "I can handle it. More importantly, I have a job for you."

The pack straitened to attention, staring at their master expectantly.

"A few weeks back, I was poisoned on-"

"What!?" Immediately he was surrounded by a cocoon of living fur, knocking him sideways onto the mattress. The mass of whining licking dogs swarmed over him like an ocean wave.

"Are you okay?"

"-smells okay…"

"-hy didn't you call u-"

"Who did it? I swear I'l-"

"Guys! Guys! Enough, I'm fine!" Kakashi drew an arm across his face to protect from Uhei's frantic licking.

Pakkun hopped back onto the floor as the pack began to relax, the rest slowly following suit, though staying significantly closer to their pup.

Kakashi reached to scratch the top of Guruko's head absentmindedly, "I'm fine. I recovered in a couple weeks, but I have a feeling the same guys who poisoned me on my last mission were the same nin who attacked me in the village."

"In the village?" Pakkun asked, clearly stunned. The rest of the pack began to growl, the hackles on Shiba and Urushi's backs rising angrily.

Kakashi nodded, "Twice actually. Minato-sensei found out about a week ago."

Bull trudged forwards and laid protectively across Kakashi's bare feet, the massive dog pinning his appendages to the floor, "It's been a long time since a Leaf shinobi has targeted you," he grumbled thoughtfully, "I thought most of Sakumo's enemies had finished coming after you by now."

Kakashi rubbed at a headache beginning to form under his left temple, "I haven't ruled that out yet, but you're right. It seems unlikely."

"So what's your theory?" Pakkun asked.

Kakashi sighed, "I have a hunch, but I'm going to need evidence to prove it."

Pakkun's heavy-lidded eyes regarded him quizzically, "What do you need us to do?"

"I need you to rendezvous with Chizuru Nara."

Tenzo POV

Tenzo had started his shift only five minutes before he felt Kakashi's chakra spike.

He glanced at Yugao meaningfully and dove out of the treeline, sprinting up the side of the house and balancing carefully on the window frame.

The voices inside the room silenced for a moment, and for that one terrible moment, Tenzo readied himself to signal to Yugao. Before he could raise his hand to alert her, Kakashi's voice filtered through the glass, "It's just my dogs Cat. I'm fine."

Tenzo paused for a moment, then moved to open the window.

Kakashi sat hunched on the edge of his bed, eight ninja hounds scattered in front of him.

As he poked his head into the room, several of the dogs began to snarl, apparently not taking kindly to the off-putting uniform of the Anbu Black Ops.

"Just checking." He answered lightly, waving to the familiar little dog seated directly in front of his senpai. The pug nodded in return and Tenzo dropped down to the ground, walking thoughtfully back towards the treeline.

Yugao, who had taken up Tenzo's abandoned post in the bushes, now rose to pace beside him. Her masked face turned; dark, unblinking eye holes regarding him shrewdly.

"I take it Senpai is alright?" She asked, flipping a long lock of her plum-colored ponytail back over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Tenzo replied, "just the dogs."

Yugao nodded thoughtfully and jumped back to her perch in the nearest oak tree.

"What do you think he's got planned?" she muttered, just loud enough for Tenzo to hear.

"I'm not sure," He admitted, "My guess is he's still planning on taking the enemy on alone."

Tenzo could almost feel Yugao rolling her eyes as she spoke, "Well, of course, he's not going to accept our help. That's been obvious from the start. But what's his next move?"

Tenzo shrugged, re-adjusting his weapons pouch as he returned to his position, "No idea, but something tells me we should put eyes on those dogs."

...

Minato POV

Minato had decided. He was going to talk to Kakashi about the mind transfer, and he was going to do it today.

The Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves stood outside his front door, trying to convince himself to go inside.

Going inside meant he couldn't put it off any longer. Going inside meant he would have to confront his student.

Minato sighed and rested his head against the door frame.

Kakashi could most likely sense him standing out here. Lingering on the doorstep was only going to make the young Hatake nervous, and arguing with him on edge would just make things worse.

With a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside.

The house was...spotless.

Minato ran a finger over a nearby shelf and examined the appendage. There wasn't a speck of dust.

"Kakashi?" The Yondaime slowly made his way across his home, noticing for the first time that Naruto's toys were actually inside the toy trunk.

Out of curiosity, he opened the fridge, revealing an immaculately clean and perfectly organized interior.

"Kakashi?"

Suddenly a little wooden bird flapped down in front of him; a message held tight in one delicately carven set of toes.

Minato bent to retrieve it, the bird immediately taking off out the kitchen window and re-attaching itself to the large oak tree outside.

The Yondaime unrolled the slip of paper,

Yondaime-sama,
Kakashi needed to leave the premises. Team Ro is tailing him.

Minato threw himself into one of the nearest kitchen chairs, allowing his head to fall back and his arms to dangle loosely at his sides.

Part of him was relieved, basking in the temporary comfort of stalling for just a little longer...and the fact disgusted him.

As far as he knew, his last student could be well on his way to following his father to an untimely death. How dare he be relieved that he didn't have to confront him? Minato groaned and sunk deeper into his chair.

"Hello? Kakashi? I'm back from...Why is it so clean in here?" Kushina stopped to inspect one of the living room bookcases, running a slender finger across the row of neatly arranged books.

"It seems like Kakashi's been busy."

"Minato!" Kushina whirled around, almost knocking over the nearby lamp in her haste, "When did you get home?"

"Just now," he answered, rising to come stand beside her, "I was hoping I could talk to Kakashi."

"Is he not home?" Kushina asked, dropping her bag onto the couch and slumping into the adjacent armchair.

"No...Kushina...I need to talk to you about something."

She looked up at him curiously, "Okay, shoot."

Minato took a deep breath and braced himself for her response, "I was talking to Inoichi a few days ago about the incident at Kakashi's apartment."

Kushina nodded, urging him to continue.

"No one from the Intel Division or the Yamanaka clan could pick up anything on these guys. Kakashi said that he hit one of them with raikiri. If that were the case, there would have been blood everywhere. No matter how well those shinobi could clean up after themselves, the Inozuka's dogs would have still been able to pick up a scent."

Kushina's eyes narrowed, "So...you think this was a genjutsu?"

Minato shook his head, frowning, "No. The Intelligence Division ruled that out in their investigation. The destruction would have been different if Kakashi had been fighting an illusion."

"So what was their conclusion?" Kushina asked, her voice dangerously low as the kunoichi leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

"Inoichi thinks that the crime scene may have been set up."

"What do you mean set up?"
Minato sat silently for a moment, pondering over his next words, "They think Kakashi may have...covered for a lapse in-"

"They think he tried to kill himself don't they?"

Minato sighed and sat down on the couch across from his wife.

"Those idiots," Kushina rambled on, anger growing in her deceptively soft voice, "Kakashi is the most paranoid person I have ever met. Have they seen the defenses he has around his apartment? That genius student of yours may be a dangerous, pig-headed idiot, but-"

"Kushina," Minato cut her off, "Tenzo found Kakashi passed out in a pool of his own blood. There was no sign of forced entry, no incriminating evidence left behind, no trail and no chakra signature's present besides Kakashi's."

"So what? His enemy was skilled."

"Kushina, what Kakashi told us is physically impossible. There is no such thing as a living human being without a chakra signature. Even if they had suppressed it, the sharingan would have picked up even the faintest flow of chakra."

"You think he lied to you?"

Minato rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't think so. If Kakashi wanted to lie to me, he'd have done a better job of it. There's something else going on."

There was a pause as the couple lingered in strained silence.

"Inoichi wants to do a mind transfer."

"You can't be serious." Kushina scoffed.

"It's the only way we can be sure. If Kakashi is experiencing a mental collapse, I need to know before he hurts himself again."

"You can't force him to undergo an interrogation like that!" She yelled rising to her feet, "That technique is only used on high-class rogue nin and the criminally insane!"

Minato sighed, "I'm not sure I have a choice. If someone is hiding in the village that can completely extinguish their chakra, I need to know, and if Kakashi is having a breakdown, he needs help."

Kushina snorted, "Kakashi has been having a breakdown since the day his father died! You of all people should know Kakashi better than to think he would commit seppuku in his kitchen!"

"I'm not willing to take the chance that I'm wrong! Are you?" Minato shouted.

Kushina glared at him as if he had dumped a pile of rotting garbage on her front step,"If you force that boy to relive his worst memories in front of some idiot from the Yamanaka clan, you better believe you'll have more than just a couple rogue nin to deal with." She finished, grabbing her bag and marching right back out the front door.

Kakashi POV

Kakashi hadn't lasted long stuck inside the Namikaze's, now exceptionally clean, little house. He needed air; consequences be damned.

Somehow, he had managed to drag his detail halfway around the hidden leaf on a jog that would leave your average jonin gasping for air.

Tenzo and Yugao had protested at first, but after about ten minutes of being completely ignored seemed to resign themselves to trailing behind their cabin-crazed charge.

Kakashi ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, slowing to a walk as he took the last step up to the Hokage monument. He stopped to catch his breath, basking in the early autumn breeze.

It felt good to get out of the house and back into open air.

He attempted to overlook the footsteps of his guards, no more than ten feet behind him at any given point in time.

They were following orders; he understood that. They were worried about his well-being; he understood that too, better than he was willing to admit. He knew what it was like to be protective of a comrade, and that was the problem.

He couldn't give them what they wanted. He couldn't sit back and play the victim, especially now that they had placed him in protective custody. His team had thrown themselves into the crossfire. If they didn't back off soon, and the enemy moved to strike, it would be on his head if someone died.

He understood their desire to shield him all too well. But he was selfish, and he wasn't worth their sacrifice. His thoughts trickled back to Rin.

...

"Stop following me, will you? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Kakashi shrugged and sat down beside her, plucking the tightly capped bottle of water out of her hand and twisting it open, "I know you can." He answered, returning the pilfered item before she could protest.

"Then stop coddling me!" She laughed, snatching the bottle from his hand and giving his head a playful shove.

...

Kakashi moved to sit on the top of Minato's massive stone head; his knees pulled up to his chest.

"Kakashi?"

The silver-haired anbu turned to watch as Tenzo strode up beside him and sat down. Yugao remained at a distance, her eyes scanning for any possible threats.

"Hmm?"

"How long are you going to stay mad at us?"

Kakashi's eyebrows quirked in surprise, "Mad at you? I'm not mad at you."

For a moment, Tenzo seemed at a loss for words, Kakashi's response appearing to freeze him in his tracks, "You chucked a kunai at me! You've been shutting the blinds and ignoring us for a week! Hell, you won't even let any of us in the house!"

Kakashi shook his head, "I'm not mad at you. I'm used to having privacy, and I'm not going to give away what little I have left without good reason." He paused for a moment, trying to remember when he had thrown a weapon at his friend, "As for the kunai, it was a correction, nothing more. I've been on the field longer than you have. Little mistakes like that are what get shinobi killed."

Tenzo scoffed, "That was more than a correction senpai, and you know it."

Kakashi shrugged, "My anger wasn't directed at you."

Tenzo sighed and shook his head, "You know, you can seriously be an ass sometimes." He muttered, lying back with his arms crossed behind his neck. Kakashi smiled in silent agreement.

...

Minato POV

It was a little past noon when Kakashi finally arrived back at the Namikaze's house.

Minato's heart sprang into his throat, the moment he'd been preparing himself for coming faster than he'd anticipated.

He sat at the kitchen table, listening with trepidation as Kakashi removed his sandals and placed them by the door. The familiar sounds of his student returning home become a war drum slowly marching forwards.

"Kakashi?"Minato called, halting his student's advance towards the guest room.

The young Hatake stopped and backtracked to the open doorway, "Yes, Sensei?"

"I have something I'd like to discuss with you." Minato told him. Steeling himself for whatever came next, he gestured for Kakashi to take the empty seat across from him.

The anbu complied and wordlessly moved to sit in the little wooden chair, his typical slouch evaporating into stiff-backed military attention.

Minato sighed, so Kakashi knew something was up. He had been too transparent, "Listen Kakashi, so about that night at your apartment. You said your sharingan couldn't pick up a chakra signature?"

The anbu nodded, confusion beginning to play behind his uncovered grey eye.

Minato took a deep breath, "Kakashi, there's no such thing as a living breathing person that doesn't have at least a faint chakra signature."

"I know that." Kakashi intoned carefully.

"With the evidence that we have, the only logical explanations are that someone cast a very high-level genjutsu or that there was no one in your apartment that night."

Kakashi didn't respond.

"According to the intelligence division, from the state of your apartment, it seems very unlikely that you were fighting an illusion."

Still, Kakashi didn't respond, staring deadpan into Minato's searching blue eyes.

"Kakashi...is there...something you need to tell me?"

Realization dawned, the surprise that briefly lit his eyes quickly extinguished by a sudden and complete removal of any and all expression, "They think I tried to kill myself, don't they?"

"The evidence isn't stacking up. There were no bodies, no blood, especially if you hit a man with raikiri-"

"If I were going to fake a crime scene," He interjected, the edge of his voice becoming harder, "it would be far more believable than that."

"Kakashi, listen, I...believe that you thought you were telling the truth, but-"

"You think I went crazy."

"No! I think you might have been confused! You've had some difficult missions as of late, and no one in the Anbu or anywhere else would fault you for experiencing the repercussions of that."

Kakashi remained silent, his single eye regarding Minato sharply.

"Given the...location of the wound-"

Kakashi stood now, his hands clenched in his pockets, "I am not my father, Hokage-sama."

Minato inwardly recoiled at the use of his formal title, wishing he didn't have to finish what he was about to say, "I know you're not...but I need to be sure if this threat is real, and I also need to be confident in your safety. I won't make you do it, but Inoichi Yamanaka has suggested that we perform a mind transfer."

What little color Kakashi had, seemed to drain from his face,"Hai, Hokage-sama." He turned stiffly to exit the kitchen.

Minato rose quickly, "This isn't an order Kakashi; I won't force you to do this."

Kakashi stopped, turning to look over his shoulder, "Won't you?"

There was a long moment of stunned silence before Kakashi looked away.

Minato desperately tried to force himself to deny Kakashi's statement. But he couldn't. He was right. When it came down to the safety of his student and the security of the village, Minato wouldn't hesitate to do everything in his power to keep them safe. If Kakashi had denied, eventually Minato would have no choice but to force him.

"When?" Kakashi asked, his back still facing Minato.

The Yondaime paused, finally answering softly, "Inoichi is ready whenever we are."

"Then let's get this over with." He muttered, finishing his exit from the kitchen and stalking back to the front door to retrieve his sandals.

Minato took a deep breath and followed, ignoring the half of his brain that demanded he stop everything and pull his broken little student back into the arms of refuge. He was doing this for Kakashi. He was doing this for the village. And he hated himself for it.

...

Pakkun POV

Pakkun and Shibi padded down the dark halls of anbu headquarters, making their way to the medical unit's lab.

Shiba sniffed, his ears twitching back the way they had come.

Pakkun eyed his companion sharply, "Daichi is tailing us."

Shiba nodded and growled gently, "Kakashi's human pack is starting to grate on my nerves."

The little pug turned to glance over his shoulder. Daichi was invisible to the naked eye, blending seamlessly into the wall somewhere along the corridor behind them. However, a dogs nose was impervious to genjutsu. Daichi was smarter than this. He wanted them to know he was there.

Pakkun came to a decision and turned the next corner, "It's alright, let him follow."

Shiba snarled softly and glared at his alpha, "You're just going to let him follow? But-"

"She'll give us a written message. There will be nothing for the brat to overhear, even if he is sculking outside the door."

Shiba sneezed and shook himself, "I still don't like it."

Pakkun glanced back once more and snuffed in annoyance, Neither did he.

...

Kakashi POV

Inoichi's office was on the top floor of the Intelligence Division's headquarters.

As the young Hatake stepped through the door, he was greeted by the scent of dusty old books and well-used leather.

In any other circumstance, Kakashi would have found the room welcoming. A quiet, peacefully lonely place, full of books and long stretches of uninterrupted silence. Today it was a prison cell.

Inoichi walked around him, moving to grab a small wooden stool from behind a sturdy oak writing desk.

"Take a seat." The Yamanaka instructed, gesturing towards a thickly upholstered leather armchair, the seat beginning to crack from overuse.

Kakashi obeyed, his back ramrod straight. He knew how these things usually went. He had seen the restraints the Yamanaka's traditionally used for this jutsu. By moving the procedure out of the locked cells and into Inoichi's office, they were reminding him that this wasn't an interrogation; that he was among friends. It was an attempt to make him feel more comfortable. An attempt to assure him he was safe...it wasn't working.

Kakashi could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise as Inoichi moved to sit in front of him, the legs of his stool screeching softly against the hardwood floor.

'I'm a tool; tools don't feel.'

"I'm going to place you under a genjutsu to start. It should help you relax and hopefully make the process a little easier."

Kakashi forced himself to remain seated, every fiber of his being arguing that he should stand up and fight his way out.

Minato took a step forward, and Kakashi shot him a warning look. Not now. He didn't need anyone to get any closer. Not when he was already this close to snapping.

Minato stopped, a pained understanding seeping into his worried expression.

"Are you ready to begin?" Inoichi asked quietly, his eyes all the while monitoring the anbu before him. Inoichi wasn't an idiot. This wasn't the first time he had worked with a member of the Anbu Black Ops. He was prepared for the explosion, should it come, and for that Kakashi was grateful.

'I'm a tool; tools don't feel.'

Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded, allowing himself to lean back into the cushions, perfectly still except for the slight twitch of his tightening jaw.

"Alright then." Inoichi's long knobbly fingers flipped effortlessly through the hand signs.

...

Minato POV

Minato watched as Kakashi's eyes glazed over and he sunk heavily into the armchair.

The Yamanaka stopped, turning to look up at Minato, "I don't know how he is going to react to this."

Minato nodded, "I know."

"If he comes out swinging-"

"I'll stop him." Minato cut him off. He wanted to get this over with. No, what he really wanted was to back out of this entirely, but that was something he couldn't do. He'd made up his mind. All he could do was pray that the results would not be disastrous.

Inoichi nodded and turned to Kakashi, placing one calloused hand on the young man's pale hair, "Psycho mind transmission jutsu."

...

Kakashi POV

He didn't remember Inoichi finishing his hand signs. One moment he was sitting in a beaten old armchair and the next he was floating. It was as if he were sinking, his body pressing deep into a velvety warmth around him. A stone plunging in slow motion to the bottom of the ocean.
And then the feeling stopped. He was being dragged upwards, as if by a string connected to the crown of his head. For a moment it was bright. Almost unbearably so, and then…

...

"Hey, Kiddo."
"Tou-san!"
He ran forwards on short legs into the familiar arms of his father. The man hefted him up, the strength in his hand across his back, and the smell of his dusty, weather-beaten flack jacket like a thick blanket on a cold dark morning.

Kakashi wrapped his skinny arms around his father's neck, the prickle of silver stubble from a day without shaving biting into the soft skin under his arms. It had been weeks since he had last seen him. Weeks since he had felt like this.

Safe.

...

Another tug. A flash of white light.

...

"ETERNAL RIVAL!"

"Guy, what is it? I don't have time this morning."

Guy's lanky teenage frame bent over to see what he was reading, "THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR TRAINING MY MOST GLORIOUS RIVAL."

Kakashi hunched lower in his seat and turned another page, attempting to block out the enthusiasm of the obnoxiously loud, spandex wearing youth.

Guy sighed and came to sit silently beside him.

Kakashi pretended not to notice, forcing himself to direct his attention to the last sentence.

"Isolating yourself from your friends is not going to save them."

Kakashi stood to leave. Guy rose to follow.

Ignoring him, Kakashi trudged slowly down the dirt road.

Guy strode along beside him, the two meandering towards the memorial stone in companionable silence.

...

TUG. FLASH.

...

Back in time. Short legs and chubby fingers soaked in blood. Rain poured down the windows outside, the occasional flicker of lightning illuminating the prone figure before him.

He was so still. So white. A stark contrast to the deep red that had soaked into the tatami mat. The same red that was slowly creeping into his shoes-

...

He resisted, attempting to disentangle himself from the invisible string that dragged him forward.

TUG. FLASH.

...

Rin rushed forward and hugged him, her arms locked around his pale neck.

"If Obito were here right now I'd have to stop him from strangling you!"

"I'm alright Rin, really-"

"Don't give me that! I'm a medic-nin for crying out loud! You almost died-"

"I'm not going to die."

"Is that really a promise you're willing to make?"

Rin's hold tightened around him, locking him in her arms.

He didn't answer. Instead, his arms seemed to rise on their own accord, returning her embrace for the first time since their friendship had formed.

She was right. He couldn't make that promise.

...

He struggled harder now, nearly succeeding in drawing himself back into the blackness.

He could feel the presence scrambling to regain its hold, desperately attempting to strengthen its connection. He lashed out at it, nearly severing the link altogether.

Suddenly his consciousness stilled, his whole body seeming to relax on its own accord. The presence regained its hold with new force, ripping him back up into the light.

TUG. FLASH.

...

Kakashi slipped silently through the empty forest. Massive trees loomed watchfully like ancient sentries, casting heavy shadows in the deepening night. The porcelain of his Anbu mask glowed in the occasional patch of moonlight, crimson designs turning a ghostly shade of maroon in the growing darkness.

It had been a long and grueling mission, even by Kakashi's low standards. Due to miss information, he had infiltrated the wrong outpost and had to scour three more to find the scroll in question.

When he had finally acquired his target, he retreated from the hidden stone to rendezvous with a member of the Leaf's Intelligence division at Tenchi bridge. His contact hadn't shown, and Kakashi wasn't about to wait. He knew it was sensitive material, not something to be kept lingering in one place too long.

He had no choice; he was running straight for Konoha. Someone had found him out, and he certainly wasn't about to wait around to greet them.

...

TUG. FLASH.

...

Same mission. Kakashi sat huddled in the bushes passing a needle back and forth across the slit that marred his left thigh.

As far as he could tell it was a clean cut, nothing more than an irritation so long as it was treated properly.

He could almost hear Rin's snort of disbelief as he wrapped a bandage around the newly stitched skin.

'If you run on that it's only going to re-open.'

He shook the voice out of his head and stood. He had a mission to complete.

...

TUG. FLASH.

...

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

The air shifted behind him. Kakashi ducked as a man's arm swept over his head, Kunai hissing as it cut through empty space.

Kakashi rolled forwards, spinning to find the clearing empty. The wind blew eerily across the weapon spattered ground, an electric sort of calm settling over the landscape.

Footsteps pattered behind him. Turning, he spotted the shadow of a dark figure slipping into the tree line. A twig snapped as another shinobi leapt into the forest, melting into the underbrush.

Kakashi lifted his hitiate, using the sharingan to scan for chakra signatures.

Nothing. Nothing but the empty forest and swaying trees twitching their leaves in anticipation.

To be able to conceal one's chakra took an incredible amount of skill.

But this...there should still be something. Even an S class ninja would be visible at this close of range.

He felt rather than heard the man run up behind him. His left leg betraying him as he attempted to spin and slice through his attacker's neck.

...

TUG. FLASH.

...

Obito was dying. What little left visible of his crushed body staring glassily up at Kakashi's straining arms.

"Stop…its alright Kakashi."

Kakashi ignored him, desperately attempting to force chakra into his hands, struggling in vain to lift the massive boulder.

"My right side is completely crushed. I can't even feel it anymore."

Blood trickled over the corner of his lip and dribbled down his chin.

"I'm not going to make it."

...

'NO'

Kakashi reeled back into the darkness, pulling himself away from the pressure drawing him in.

He was not going to relive that again, not with someone peering over his shoulder.

With a considerable effort, he dragged himself away from the light threatening to expose him.

'Kakashi! Calm down it's me!' Inoichi's voice echoed through his head; the tug on his mind growing more persistent. Kakashi thrashed desperately against it, attempting to gain hold of something, anything, to keep himself in the empty black void.

The tug paused for a moment and jerked hard. He was being pulled again.

White light enveloped him.

...

Pakkun lay across his lap under the shade of a large oak tree. The rest of the pack flopped down beside him, their warm bodies pressed against his outstretched legs.

He turned another page of his book and sighed, absentmindedly scratching behind Uhei's ear. The dog leaned contentedly into his hand, readjusting so his chin rested on Kakashi's thigh.

It was his turn to be the hunted in this weeks tracking simulation. His anbu squad had been searching for him for the past eight hours.

He smirked under his mask. His team hadn't been able to locate him, despite the relatively mid-level genjutsu he'd performed. No one had expected him to hide in Daichi's backyard.

Daichi, the tracking specialist of the team, had never once thought to look right under his nose.

...

TUG. FLASH.

...

He was back in his apartment.

The room was too quiet.

Something about the air felt…constrictive. As if an invisible force was stretching it taught, ready to snap at a moments notice.

Kakashi's chakra flared, rushing through the room in search of intruders.

…There was nothing.

His fingers rose to his headband, beginning to lift the fabric from Obito's concealed eye.

Something in the corner of the room glittered, Kakashi ducking just in time to miss the kunai aimed for his hand.

The door behind him slammed shut, muscular arms reaching to wrap around his neck from behind.

Kakashi kicked back, rolling out from under the mans grasp and into the middle of the room.

Two men loomed in front of him, dark robes shielding their features from view. Their faces were obscured in shadow, resulting in the illusion of the shinobi being headless. Darkness itself seeming to peer from under the thick folds of cloth.

Kakashi's eye drank them in, gathering nothing. Their cloaks were like a wall, obscuring their movements, muffling their stances. He raised a hand to his left eye once more; the action stopped by an arm reaching from behind, thick fingers closing around his wrist.

On reflex, he twisted, jamming his shoulder into the man's stomach as he ducked and launched him over his back. The man flew into the sofa with a crash, tipping the piece of furniture over as it broke his fall.

...

There was one final tug, but this time, darkness swallowed him. He couldn't move, couldn't think. He was suspended in warm nothing, and he welcomed it, allowing himself to sink further into oblivion.

...

Minato POV

Inoichi sat back and wiped the sweat from his face, turning to check Kakashi's vitals. Sweat had soaked through the young man's shirt, his breath coming steadily but heavily through the skin tight fabric that obscured his face.

"Alright, we're finished." Inoichi announced, grabbing a blanket he had folded by the chair and throwing it over his subject to keep him from becoming chilled in his damp clothes.

"Did you get what you needed?" Minato asked stiffly, his eyes never leaving the unconscious face of his student.

"It took me a while to sort through his memories." Inoichi admitted, "This jutsu is not very precise, memories tend to jump around randomly, especially when the subject isn't fully sedated. At one point I had to increase the level of the genjutsu to calm him down, But yes. I found what we were looking for."

"And?"

"As far as I can tell he's telling the truth. There were shinobi in his apartment that night, as well as by the memorial stone. However, that raises a new question."

"Which is?"

"What kind of shinobi can produce no chakra signature whatsoever and still be living?"

Both men turned to the unconscious anbu captain, his chest still rising and falling rapidly under the heavy knit blanket.

"I wouldn't move him until he wakes up." Inoichi answered before Minato could ask, "Sometimes people wake up in a panic. It's best to let him come out of it here, rather than in your home."

Minato nodded and leaned wearily on Inoichi's desk.

"Does it usually take that long?" Minato murmured, noticing for the first time that his feet were starting to ache from the constant pacing.

Kakashi and Inoichi had sat like living statues for three hours, leaving Minato to do nothing but worry away his time until they had finished.

Inoichi had snapped at him on several occasions throughout the procedure, noting that the Yondaime's fidgeting was interfering with his focus. It seemed, however, that Minato's bad habit could not be contained and after the fourth time Inoichi attempted to quiet his anxious leader, he had resigned himself to block out the man's troubled footsteps.

Inoichi glanced up at the clock, "No, not for something so recent. I would have guessed it to be closer to an hour." He looked back down at Kakashi, "It's hard enough to pinpoint memories even in a completely restrained consciousness. He fought me nearly the entire time."

Minato sighed and nodded.

"The mind transfer can eat up a significant amount of chakra." Inoichi explained, "You can take him home after he wakes up but he'll most likely end up sleeping for the rest of the day."

Minato nodded and leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees, "I'll stay with him until he wakes up. If you could send one of your subordinates to grab some paperwork from my office-"

"Way ahead of you." Inoichi walked around his desk and handed Minato a large stack of papers.

"Thanks" He grinned tiredly. He seemed to be doing far more work outside of the office than inside these days.

...

It had been a few hours since Inoichi had left Minato to watch over his unconscious charge. Kakashi's breathing had finally settled, and he rested in what seemed to Minato, relative peace.

After nearly an hour and a half, he'd begun to shift in his sleep, his eyebrows pulling together as his consciousness gradually returned.

Minato scribbled some final notes down on a blank sheet of paper and turned his full attention back to his student.

Kakashi's one visible eye slowly began to open, taking in his surroundings with a blankness that reminded Minato strangely of a black and white photograph.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced impassively up at his sensei, the lack of concern in his tired eye almost more disturbing than if he had blown up.

"Hey, welcome back."

Kakashi blinked and reached up to straighten his mask, "Did you get what you needed?" The anbu's voice was like a tomb, cold wind blowing up from an empty pit. There was nothing in it, the words falling dead from his mouth.

Minato nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry, I just needed to be sure."

Kakashi shrugged, "You're the Yondaime. The village comes first."

He pushed himself up to stand and almost immediately began to crumple to the floor. Minato was beside him in an instant, linking one shaky elbow over his shoulders.

"Come on, let's get you home."

...

Minato unlocked the front door, and half carried Kakashi into the house, the anbu's shaky legs walking, but supporting almost none of his weight.

"Ka-Kakashi! Minato! What? What happened?" Kushina scrambled out of the kitchen as Minato shuffled Kakashi past her.

"In a minute." Minato told her, nudging open the door to the guest room with his foot and moving to set Kakashi down on the bed.

He gave the young man's shoulder a gentle shake and whispered, "Kakashi?"

Kakashi's head had sagged to his chest, thick silver hair flopping over the unmasked portion of his face. His arms laid loosely in his lap, hands dangling limply over the edge of the mattress. With a mild shock of surprise, Minato reached to steady the young Hatake as he, seemingly in slow motion, began to sag heavily to the side.

Kakashi had already fallen asleep.

Minato lowered him to the bed and pulled the blankets over his shoulders. It was as if he were looking back in time. The first night Kakashi spent without his father, he had stayed with Minato. The yellow flash grimaced as he remembered it, pulling the blanket over his tiny student's shoulders; The exhausted six-year-old finally succumbing to his body's desperate call for sleep.

Sometimes it was as if he had never aged. As if he were still that broken little boy desperately trying to live his life by the rules that killed his father.

Minato sighed and pulled off Kakashi's headband, lying it with a soft clink on the nearby bedside table.

Silently, he attempted to justify the decision he had made, struggling to remind himself that he'd done the right thing for the village.

He pulled the blankets a little higher around the anbu's shoulders.

As Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, it was his duty to protect his citizens, to make the safety of the village his first priority. However...It was hard to believe himself as he looked down at the unconscious form of his student buried beneath the comforter. He wasn't sure what the ramifications of his latest sacrifice would be. He had already lost Rin and Obito. He didn't think he could bear to lose Kakashi as well.

With a final glance back, the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves switched off the light and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

...

Kushina POV

Kushina stood hesitantly in the kitchen doorway, watching as Minato gently pulled the door to the guest bedroom shut.

"What happened?" Kushina demanded, glancing down the hall to check if Naruto had noticed the commotion.

"Inoichi did the mind transfer-"

"He did what?" she hissed, fists beginning to tremble at her sides, "You made him-"

"I didn't make him do anything Kushina, he agreed." he snapped, moving past her and grabbing a glass from a nearby cupboard.

Kushina shook her head in disgust, "A formal request from a Kage is essentially an order, Minato."

In a lapse of control, Minato slapped one hand to his side in exasperation, "What did you want me to do Kushina? I had to be certain he was telling the truth."

"Since when have you needed to read your student's mind to trust him?" She barked, fighting the urge to throw something at him.

"Since he started hiding injuries, failing to report attacks and excepting suicide missions like they were candy! Do you really want to take his word for it and find him dead tomorrow?"

Kushina's face reddened to match her flaming hair, "Kakashi wouldn't lie to us about something this serious Minato! After all these years you should know that!"

"I do!" Minato fumed, slamming his cup down on the counter and throwing his hands up, "But what he was telling us was impossible! Literally, impossible! Until Inoichi did the mind transfer today, there was nothing that could prove Kakashi's claims! The men he saw have absolutely no chakra signature! Even the Inozuka's dogs couldn't track them! That's like standing up in front of Konoha and declaring that the zombie apocalypse has begun! Half of my advisors told me to check him into the Anbu's psych ward!"

"And you believed them?" Kushina growled back, incredulity lacing each furious word.

"I didn't know what to believe! You didn't see him after it happened! It was a gut wound Kushina! It was nearly identical to Sakumo's! If it had been any deeper, it would have killed him before Cat could find him!"

"After everything Kakashi has been through do you honestly think he would ever replicate his father's death!" Kushina raged, untying her apron and throwing it onto the kitchen table.

Minato's voice sank back down to its regular volume as he rubbed a couple of fingers into his temple, "No I just..." He scrubbed a hand through his hair in frustration, "If something were to..." He stopped, mind searching for the right words.

Kushina took a few deep breaths and faced him, "I'm scared for him too." She pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down tiredly, "So, they really had no chakra signature?"

Minato nodded and looked out the window into the backyard. The setting sun made his golden hair glow orange in the warm evening light, "It's like Kakashi said. None of them possessed a chakra signature. It was as if they were dead."

...

Kakashi POV

Kakashi woke to the sensation of a tongue lapping across the side of his face, followed by the distinct and invasive smell of hot dog breath filling his nose. The anbu cringed and turned his head away, a small groan of protest cracking through his dry lips.

"Pup?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi opened his eye and brushed the dog off. Halfheartedly, he reached to wipe the drool from his cheek, thankful that his summons had refrained from dampening his mask, "Pakkun?"

"You alright pup?"

Kakashi turned his head wearily to study the wrinkly little dog standing on his bed. The shadows seemed to bend strangely around the rolls that sat over his nose, making his face appear unnaturally smooth in the moonlight.

"Pup?"

Kakashi sighed, forcing himself back into reality, "Your mission?"

Uhei hopped onto the bed and curled up against his side, the bandaged greyhound laying his head gently on his master's stomach.

"We made contact with the Nara women. She gave us this." Pakkun nudged the scroll that he had dropped on the bed, staring expectantly down into his summoner's half-open right eye.

Kakashi picked it up, his sleep laden fingers clumsily unrolling the long sheet of parchment. His eyes scanned over the sloppy penmanship...

The sample that you presented me is a rare form of a poison derived from a plant called spreading yew. The toxin is extracted and amplified through a chakra enhancement that...

Kakashi stopped reading and handed the scroll back to Pakkun, "Your new mission is to destroy this document." He said quietly, "I don't want it to be read by anyone else."

Pakkun nodded and tossed it to Bull who began to gnaw on it as he would a bone. The massive dog's teeth and drool quickly reduced the parchment to nothing but a few specks of soggy paper clumps.

'So I was right.' Kakashi thought. The poisons were identical. The shinobi that had attacked him in his apartment and at the memorial stone were the same shinobi that had tracked him on his last assignment. Somehow the two events were connected. The question now was how.

Kakashi closed his eye, trying to separate his mind from the day's events; Struggling to pull away from the memories he'd been forced to relive. He wanted to hide from it. From Inoichi's eyes peeking over his shoulder. His father's blood soaking into the study floor. Obito lying crushed beneath a massive boulder.

'I'm a tool; tools don't feel.'

He took another breath and let it out slowly, allowing his muscles to relax as he buried his weakness deep in the recesses of his exhausted mind.

"You look terrible." Pakkun commented, hopping up to curl into the crook of Kakashi's left arm.

"Thanks."

"Are you going to tell us what happened?"

Kakashi thought about it for a long moment, finally answering tiredly, "No."

The pack exchanged worried looks, silently agreeing not to push the matter any further. Instead, the remaining six dogs, except for Bull who wouldn't fit, climbed onto the bed and formed a protective wall around their pup.

Kakashi sighed as a fragment of his stress seemed to melt away, replaced by the slow rhythmic breaths of the dogs that encircled him.

Just as Kakashi was about to fall asleep, he heard the door open. Small tottery footsteps pattered up beside him, little fingers tugging gently on his hand.

"Kashi-nii?" Kakashi grunted and cracked his eye open once more, taking in the shadowy form of his sensei's son.

"Naruto?" His voice crackled from sleep, "What is it?"

"I had a nightmare."

"Why don't you go wake up your otou-san?" Kakashi asked, his eye slipping closed on its own accord.

He could feel the shake of Naruto's head through the tight hold the boy had on his fingers, "Can I stay with you?"

Kakashi sighed and waved the boy up, too tired to fight and unwilling to physically take him back to his room.

Naruto giggled and clamored over a few of the dogs. His bright orange pajama bottoms caught on Bisuke's nose, forcing the dog to wiggle his body into an awkward position to avoid having his snout pulled up to his forehead.

He crawled over Kakashi and wriggled under the covers, nestling himself in between the crook of the anbu's right arm, and Urushi who turned to rest his head on the four-year-old's back.

Kakashi shifted to look at Pakkun as the boy rested his head on his shoulder, stretching so one arm sprawled across the Hatake's chest.

"If I have a...bad night..." Kakashi started, looking meaningfully at the pug curled beside his pillow.

Pakkun turned to meet his gaze, "If you have a nightmare we'll protect the boy."

Kakashi nodded gratefully and closed his eye. Sleep hungrily rushed up to swallow him.

...

Kushina POV

Kushina yawned as she shuffled down the narrow hallway towards her son's bedroom. She had let Minato tuck him in that night, taking the chance to catch up on some overdue reports she hadn't finished the week before. She knew it was silly, but she felt the need to check on him. Somehow it was impossible to sleep until she had seen her son tucked safely into bed.

She poked her head into the dimly lit room, a frog-shaped nightlight casting strange shadows along the bottom edge of the furnishings.

"Naruto?"

His bed was empty, the covers thrown sloppily back over the unoccupied mattress.

Kushina straitened with surprise and turned to look back down the hall.

He hadn't come to wake Minato or herself, and there were no telltale banging noises coming from the kitchen.

A part of Kushina encouraged her to panic, urging her to run screaming for her husband and demand that he send the entirety of the Leaf's military forces to search for her precious baby boy. Taking a deep breath, she tip-toed down the hall, suppressing her motherly instincts back down to a reasonable level.

She cracked the door to the guest bedroom and poked her head inside, opening her mouth with the intention to ask if Kakashi had seen her son.

As it so happened, she needn't ask. Surrounded by a massive dog pile, Naruto lay snuggled against Kakashi's side, half of him sprawled unceremoniously across the anbu's midsection.

Careful not to wake them, Kushina eased her head back into the hall and closed the door softly behind her.

The wheels of her mind had begun to spin. Naruto was good for Kakashi, she thought. Especially after the past few weeks. Kakashi needed some light in his life. He needed to be reminded there was more to the world than death and darkness. Naruto was just the man for the job.