A/N: Here is chapter 5! I'm glad that I finally have enough ideas to write on this frequently! Its doing so much better then Love Slave! Thanks a million for everyone who reviews! I promise that this isn't your typical ItaKaka story.

Tell me how I'm doing!

XI.

Captive Heart

Chapter 5: Chasing Kakashi

By: Melissa Norvell

XI.

Iruka returned shortly with the message from the Hokage that Kakashi was on a mission in the western region of Konoha. The newly assembled team decided to head off towards that region to see if they could find any sight of the Copy Ninja.

XI.

The time finally came for Kakashi to re-learn the Sharingan.

The jounin stood before Itachi in the darkened room where he was first brought to be tended to.

"I'm ready to re-learn the Sharingan. I was hoping that you could offer some assistance." The jounin stated, looking to the Uchiha.

At first, Itachi was unamused with playing sensei to Kakashi, but as he sat there, mulling over options, a simple solution to a small problem entered his mind. Looking to the silver haired man, who stood by his side, he spoke.

"I have a better idea. If you wish to know how to perfectly execute the Sharingan, follow me back to western Konoha. You can practice on all of the enemy ninja there."

Kakashi nodded in affirmative, "I'll prepare myself for the journey."

As the jounin turned to leave, another thought passed through the Uchiha's mind. After taking two steps away from the boy in the chair, his wrist was grabbed firmly, causing the jounin to turn around.

"Hm?"

Itachi reached behind the silver haired man and untied his hitai-ate.

"What are you doing, Itachi?" The man asked in curiosity as the dark haired male laid the head protector across the table top. He then took out a kunai knife and made a slash across the Konoha emblem and handed it back to him.

Mismatched eyes looked down as they examined the head protector in his hand. "What's this?"

"So you won't lose me." Itachi replied. "Our hitai-ate's have the same marking now. This way you can tell me from the other ninja. They'll all be wearing the same emblems on their head protectors. Don't get confused."

"Right…" The silver haired jounin wore a slight look of confusion on his features as he gazed down at the marking Itachi had made.

'This does look just like his…But, why did mine resemble his before? Maybe something happened to it, I mean he just sliced mine with a kunai knife, perhaps someone attacked him and created that line…But it almost looks as if he's crossed out the symbol…What does it mean?' Kakashi thought to himself, but his mind had gotten worked up enough within the first five minutes that he eventually decided that Itachi was caring for him and it was best not to question.

Dark eyes tried to read his expression to get a better glimpse into what he was thinking. He didn't want to arouse suspicion within Kakashi, and he may have given too direct of an advance by slashing out the Konoha emblem on his head protector. After all, this was a battle of genius vs. genius, even if one of the genius mentioned was weakened by amnesia.

Kakashi lifted up the hitai-ate and tied it behind his head, making sure not to accidentally tie his hair in it. He then positioned it to cover the Sharingan.

"I'll be sure not to lose you now." He replied. "I'm going to go and prepare. Tell me when you're ready to move out."

Itachi nodded stoically in response.

When Kakashi had finished preparing for the upcoming battle, he and Itachi moved out, heading for the western region of Konoha to fight the enemy ninja. The two journeyed there, walking in silence for hours, not really saying anything to each other. This gave Kakashi some time to think to himself about the situation.

The Jounin was confused about several aspects of this mission. A small feeling had been tugging at his soul, telling him that something wasn't right about what he was doing….But another part of him was instructing him to follow Itachi's orders and that the Uchiha would help him regain his memory.

And Kakashi knew that if he wanted to regain his memory he would have to go along with Itachi, so he repressed that feeling, throwing it to the back of his mind and ignoring it for the time being,

After a long silence between the two, Kakashi finally spoke. "Why are we doing this, Itachi?"

"To practice your Sharingan."

"But, is there a purpose to killing these ninja? Why are they considered enemy ninja if they wear the same symbols as you and I do?" Kakashi asked. "I don't get it."

"You don't have to get it to train." Itachi stated. "They are the enemy, trust me."

'I don't have much of a choice…' The jounin reasoned to himself.

"Of course." He replied as they walked down a small path and into the western region of the village. Nothing but foot steps could be heard as the two walked and the sounds of nature around them.

"Kakashi-san." Itachi stated, looking over to the jounin after an hour of silence.

"Yes, Itachi?" A single eye looked over to the Akatsuki member.

"Don't listen to a word they say. They know you have amnesia so they will try and manipulate you." Itachi warned.

"Hm." Was the affirmative noise that Kakashi made in response.

XI.

When the two reached the 'enemy ninja', Itachi instructed him to use the Sharingan on them. The Copy Nin raised his head protector to reveal the Sharingan. The eye popped open, revealing the red orb within. It shone with an impressive brilliance.

Kakashi ran towards the enemy ninja, pulling out his kunai and battling them using a combination of Genjutsu and Taijutsu moves, defeating most of them easily. Stopping in the midst of a group of them, one turned and recognized him, the ninja wasn't aware that Kakashi had taken out many of his colleagues. He figured that it was Itachi, who had been fighting nearby.

"Hatake Kakashi?" The ninja said under his breath.

This caught the jounin's attention. His gaze snapped over to this enemy.

The ninja had shoulder length blue hair and green eyes. He was dressed in typical chuunin clothes and looked young in appearance, seeming no younger then seventeen. The ninja wore a Konoha Leaf head protector.

"Kakashi, you've been gone a while. Have you come here to help us out?" He smirked.

"Not hardly. You're tricks won't effect me." Kakashi replied bitterly.

"What? Don't you recognize me? It's me, Hayashibara Hogai."

"Never heard of you."

The blue haired man looked a bit befuddled at what the jounin had told him. He was one of the newly graduated chuunin from the exams and he had heard a lot about the son of the infamous White Fang.

"I think you're confused, Kakashi. We met each other during the last Chuunin exam and you-"Hogai stopped in mid-sentence, noticing that Kakashi's Konoha symbol had been scratched out on his head protector.

Green eyes narrowed and shown coldly as the word traitor rolled from his lips. 'He's a Missing Ninja…' Hogai thought. 'I have no choice. I'm going to have to try and defeat him and bring him back to the Hokage.'

"Die." As soon as the word rolled off of Kakashi's lips, he was on Hogai in an instant, and as the enemy made an attempt to pull off a jutsu, the jounin found the opportune time to use the Sharingan to copy his every move.

The other enemy ninja jumped in to help their comrade after hearing his news of Kakashi. The silver haired jounin looked at them as they jumped into the air above him.

"I can't let any of you live."

With that, the jounin began to attack them, taking them out.

Hogai was silent for a moment as conflicts ran through his head. Ever since he was a younger ninja at the academy, he always admired Kakashi and wanted to be just like him when he was grown. He though of Kakashi as a true genius and a shinobi who was both honorable and loyal to Konohagakure. The blue haired man sighed and frowned deeply. He knew what he had to do.

Hogai couldn't stand to see Kakashi like this. He was nothing but a mindless slave to the dark haired Uchiha. It was sad that his hero was reduced to this, and he found himself with no choice.

'I really don't want to do this. I know I can't beat you.' He thought as his eyes scanned over his fellow squad members, who were being annihilated by the genius nin. 'I was one of the top graduates in my class…I heard of your battles and the accomplishments you went through, being of the youngest to graduate the academy. Your skills seemed to be unmatched by almost anyone. I thrived to become everything that you were. I trained and pushed my body beyond its limits to one day hope to be like you…'

"But I don't want to be like this side of you." His head inclined, eyes being shadowed by his hair. "I can't see you go down hill like this…It's too painful."

He looked up. "I must take you out of your misery, Kakashi-sama."

He drew his weapon, which was an elongated katana of sorts and ran straight for him, a look of determination on his face. Hogai tucked his sword under his arm, and began to perform a series of hand signs.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" He called out, making several clones of himself.

The now blood-splattered Kakashi looked up from his kill to see that he was being rushed at by several clones and jumped from his newly slain victim to go after the clones. He preformed a series of hand signs and created clones to take out Hogai's clones.

The blue haired ninja stopped and stood a few feet from Kakashi. "I knew you'd do that."

Kakashi was silent with a serious expression on his face.

A katana blade clashed with a metal plate on a black glove as the two stared each other down, tension was present and so thick that it hung in the air with a suffocating presence.

Mismatched eyes bore into those of the same color with an evil and void presence that brought shivers down Hogai's spine.

"What happened to you, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, feeling pity for the silver haired ninja.

"What do you mean? Nothing happened." Kakashi lied, trying to hide any information from the enemy. If he knew that Kakashi was in a weakened state, like Itachi had warned before, then they'd get the advantage and manipulate him, and the Copy Nin didn't want that.

"You're eyes are so void…Like you're wandering around without a soul. Like you've lost all recognition of who you were." Mismatched eyes widened at this statement. It dug deep into the Copy Nin's senses.

He didn't quite understand who he was…

Hogai was right…

His expression hardened but he couldn't let him live, nonetheless. But Hogai thought the same towards Kakashi.

"I must put you out of your misery." Hogai replied, throwing a shuriken in Kakashi's direction but he simply waved it away, the spinning blade ricocheting off of the metal plate on his glove.

As soon as his hand passed his face, Hogai was behind him with his foot drawn, "Kage Buyu!" His foot drew forward to place a well executed and powerful kick. The kick was landed, causing the jounin to go into a series of spins after landing, finally crashing into a rock.

The blue haired ninja landed a short distance away, looking over his shoulder to see a cloud of dust emitting from the rock.

'Gai-sensei has taught me well…Time to show his rival what I'm really made of. Too bad his rival is also my hero.'

"What?" His eyes went wide, only to see that there was just a simple log. "No! He's gone! He must have used Henge no Jutsu." He looked around, but there was no sign of Kakashi in the area.

'Where is he?' The blue haired ninja thought, eyes darting around wildly in search of the Copy Nin. "I can't see him! But how?"

"That's because I'm right below you." A calm voice intoned, and just as Hogai looked down, he was yanked under ground.

"I-I can't move!" Hogai squirmed and writhed below Kakashi, who was standing over him. He looked up with a ghastly freight in his eyes at see a foot raised above him.

"Say good night."

A scream, loud and piercing echoed through the air, causing birds to fly from their trees, off into the wide blue skies.

TBC

QUESTION: I'm pondering on whether or not Hogai should actually die here. It doesn't seem IC for Itachi to leave him alive, but Kakashi may make that mistake, since he has in the past (i.e. Zabuza) so please answer in a review if I should let him stay alive or kill him off?

A/N: Please review, is all I can really say. The next chapter will come probably next week. Hope you enjoyed it!