Once Shinobi, Now Hero

Chapter 24: New Revelations

Author's Note: Sorry for this guys, but this chapter is an information dump and a lot of things will be going on to get the plot moving. I know things may be hard to keep up with but I don't want to keep stretching this mini arc into another three chapters. By the time we reach the climax of this arc we should be at or near chapter 30 and I want to be sure to use these last chapters to build anticipation and dread. Tell me what you think and thank you for reading!

Feet stumble across a barren field, littered with the dead. Civilians and even children were not spared from the fighting, their corpses scattered amongst the Shinobi. There was no ceremony to be held. No prayers for the dead to help the souls to the afterlife. Only fire to burn what remained on earth.

Those feet stumble, and the lone Shinobi falls to his feet, weak from days of fighting. He's young, but doesn't see the world the way a child would. His fingernails collect dirt as he digs into the ground, clawing at it, trying desperately to gather himself. The fighting might not be over, he knows. He couldn't leave himself exposed.

It took a few more long breaths but they became stable. His eyes searched the battle damaged field for any sign of life but found nothing but carnage. A man comes to mind, covered in blood, his white haired stained red. It causes him to double over as his stomach heaves and forces whatever rations he had eaten out.

His mind spun as he coughed violently, the fluid flowing out of him with welcomed ease. His first battle, and only he survived.

All he could think about was where on earth was he. And that question swarmed his mind over and over, like a swarm of angry bees.

XxX

His usual dull eye had color in them as it popped open, surprised to see a ceiling above him. Immediately, he calmed down, his body slackening upon hearing the familiar sound of a heart monitor. He was still in the hospital.

'Why that dream?' He thinks to himself, holding his now aching head. He can hear his own heart beating through it.

"Mr. Hatake, I'm so glad that you could join us here on Earth."

Slowly, he tried, his eye looked down, finding an unfamiliar looking man sitting at the foot of his bed in a wooden chair, a smile on his face that clearly didn't fit it. Like if it were plastered on.

"..."

"Ah, so not much of a talker, eh?" When he receives no answer again, he chuckles and comes to his feet. There's a strange glint in his eyes as he stares and Kakashi can't help but feel excited. Hyper awareness was a problem Shinobi who'd been on the frontline tended to have and he was no exception.

"There was a break in about 10 hours ago. Communications, Wi-Fi signals, security systems, and surveillance systems all went down for approximately 6 minutes. I want to know who you came in contact with and what were their objective. I know you should've had no contact with the outside world anywhere prior to your fight in Hosu. Meaning that whoever came here, came for you."

He was smart. If he is as sure as he looks and sounds than it was safe to assume he's mapped out his location prior a bit prior to Hosu. He couldn't lie his way out of this. He could only keep his mouth shut, something he was notoriously good at.

"Still quiet, eh?" He sighed, reaching into his grey trench coat and pulling out a scratched up metal lighter. It looked old and worn. "Well, we've got nothing but time, right?"

Kakashi stared as the man tugged in his pockets and took out a carton of cigarettes, taking one out and lighting it up. Kakashi waited for him to take a drag. "You can smoke in here?"

He lets the smoke leave him slowly and then turns to Kakashi just as slowly, his sharp eyes staring deep. "I like you, kid. You gather information easily. But I'm confident, so I don't mind telling you. This room is always being monitored, systems that detect smoke are turned off for now."