The Temple of Artemis(Pre-Event/Intro Thread)

[Kakashi Hatake]

A heavy silence fell over the copy ninja as the spritely kunoichi dropped her bombshell on the elders. Both men were jarred by the information she offered, though Minato seemed to recover more quickly from the initial shock. Kakashi stood in stunned silence as his former sensei addressed the newcomer, all but confirming that the information was true. If this was the case, he had little doubt that the rest of what she alleged to be equally factual.

Kakashi felt his heart race as he struggled to comprehend what he had just heard. The fact that his teacher was currently the home to half of the Kyūbi (evidently that was possible, despite what he thought) was definitely surprising, though it did not elicit any fear or concern from the ANBU captain. Hearing that the demon fox’s chakra had been sealed inside the body of not only strongest shinobi of his generation, but also a skilled Fūinjutsu practitioner, was hardly cause for alarm. No, Minato’s worried glance was not necessary. What troubled the man more than anything was this girl’s knowledge of his sharingan.

“Mangekyou? Is that some sort of jutsu?”

“How,” the Captain muttered behind his mask, ignoring his sensei’s inquiry. He could feel his blood pressure rising as his hands balled into tight fists, “do you know about my sharingan?”

The Mangekyou Sharingan. It had taken him weeks of searching through Lord Third’s personal archives to even find the name of his affliction. Considered the highest level of evolution of his particular Dōjutsu, it only made an appearance in the eyes of a handful of the Uchiha clan over the past few generations. The Mangekyou perfectly represented the Uchiha ‘Curse of Hatred’; it took a special kind of person to unlock its power. Those that had unlocked its secrets boasted a sinister deed along with its power. For them, it was a source of pride. For Kakashi, it was a reminder of his greatest tragedy.

The copy ninja’s grip tightened as he leered at the kunoichi, his head spinning. On that night, so many years ago, there hadn’t been a single survivor but himself. He had awoken hours later to a battlefield, the Kiri operatives having been slain by the Konoha ANBU that arrived to escort Kakashi home. And at his feet, his dear Rin.

“Kakashi…” Minato’s words were quiet and heavy with concern. Despite the mask that obscured the scarecrow’s face, he knew well the look of anguish his protege wore.

Kakashi met his sensei’s gaze, shaking his head in response. Though Minato knew full well what happened that night, the copy ninja was in no hurry to recount the story and explain its significance. Snapping his gaze back on the girl, he noted that she seemed to be distracted from their rather important conversation.

“Well?”