Echo Of A Song (On Hiatus)

And Then There Was Silence

Silence: the absence of sound or noise.

    Waking up to a silent house immediately put Kakashi on edge. Naruto's at that age where he's constantly yelling, even when he's really trying to be quiet. Combine that with eight hyperactive ninken? Absolute chaos in the mornings, but Kakashi wouldn't trade it for anything...except maybe the new limited-edition copy of Icha Icha Paradise, but that's neither here nor there.

    Letting out his a bit of his chakra, he momentarily relaxed when he sensed eight chakra signatures.

    Eight chakra signatures, not nine.

    Kakashi was down the hall at a speed that his sensei would be envious of. He yanked open the door of his son's room, finding it a mess. He tensed at the obvious signs of a struggle, and the familiar coppery smell he dreads. Walking over to the small puddle, he gave it a small sniff.

    "Naruto"

    Protective anger leaked out of him in waves, the sheer amount of killing intent seeming to wilt the plants in the bright orange room.

    The look in his dark eyes promised a slow, painful death for whoever was stupid enough to not only take his son, but to hurt him too. Oh, they'll soon realize that the price they have to pay is far greater than they can afford.
---

    Naruto woke up in a tiny, dark cell. There was barely enough room for him to uncurl from the fetal position he's been in, shivering at the cold autumn air. There were no windows, and the only door has a tiny slit at the bottom, not allowing light to slip through.

    His legs were bruised, one of his knees looked weird and hurt a lot (dislocated, a voice told him). He has a deep gash in his forehead, throbbing with pain but no longer bleeding. He has bruises shaped like hands around his wrist. It hurt.

    He could feel his body shake, but not from the frigid air. His heart was beating too fast for his tiny chest, air barely making it's way into his lungs. Dark spots blotted his vision.

   "I want my dad." the small boy cried, tears slipping down chubby cheeks as he passed out.
---

    Kakashi followed Naruto's thin scent to a small compound in the Forrest surrounding Konoha. It was filthy and there were no lights on, but he could sense ten chakra signatures inside. Two were familiar for very different reasons. The first is his son, Naruto. The other is the sick fucking bastard Danzo, who he's going to enjoy killing.

    Masking his chakra, he stealthily killed one of the guards, henging into him as he attacked the other. Slipping inside the compound, he worked like clockwork. Kill, henge, kill. Repetitive, simple. Then, he got to the second to last room.

Danzo.

    Kakashi took his time with him. Placing a silencing seal he learned from Minato, he got to work. First, he took Danzo's eyes. Ironic, right? Karma's a bitch. Then he took that beloved arm of his. From there, he slowly disected the bastard until he got bored with that. His eyes gleamed as he simply set the bastard on fire, giving him some practice before the sicko gets to rot in hell. Convenient too, no cleanup for the body.

    Finally he reached his destination, opening the cell door to the most heartbreaking sight he's seen in years. Naruto was half curled on the floor, dried blood and tears on his face. His wrists and legs were splattered with bruises and his right knee was dislocated. At that, he winced in sympathy. Moving Naruto would be uncomfortable, if not downright excruciating, with his leg like that.

    He swiftly relocated the joint, Naruto's short scream ringing in his ears. He never wants to hear that sound ever again. He cradled the fragile boy to his chest, promising to do better. To protect him with his life.
---

    Naruto woke up to a warm fuzzy blanket draped over him, his two ninken next to him, and the smell of breakfast in the air. His right leg was propped on a pillow, swollen but decidedly less painful. He heals fast, sure, but severe injuries like that take longer.

    His eyes snapped to the door, sensing movement. The door slowly creaked open, revealing his dad. Kakashi walked into the room, gently placing down the tray before turning to his son. His only open eye widened in surprise at seeing Naruto already awake, before softening considerably. He slowly kneeled next to the bed, before gently crushing his son in a hug.

    Both of them broke down in pure relief. Naruto relieved that his dad saved him, and Kakashi relieved that his son's awake and okay. The entire ordeal impacted them heavily, making them rely on each other more than ever.

    Kakashi pulled back first, still maintaining physical contact to ground them both.

   "I swear to you, I won't ever let you go through something like that again. You're my son, and it's my job to protect you." The shell of a man promised, determined to keep it.

    Naruto smiled up at his father, at his greatest supporter and the first person (other than Teuchi and Ayame) to give a damn. The first person to give him a home.

   "Thank you." (For everything)
---
((Bonus Scene))

    Kakashi stared down the Hokage before slamming Danzo's arm onto the desk. Hiruzen for his part, looked equal parts angry and disgusted.

   "What the actual fuck is that?" Hiruzen asked, borderline demanded.

    Kakashi stared lazily at the man, but venom laced his words,

    "That, Hokage-sama, would be the arm of one of your close friends. A close friend that you should've kept an eye on, because he never disbanded Root, orchestrated the Uchiha Massacre for a power trip, kidnapped my son to turn him into a fucking weapon, among many, many, many other things."

   Hiruzen stared at the arm blankly for a second, processing the mindfuck that Kakashi presented him on a silver platter, before taking a deep drag of his pipe and saying,

    "Please tell me you killed the sick motherfucker."

    Kakashi simply grinned wolfishly under his mask, eyes gleaming with manic glee. All the ANBU in the room shivered, their promise to NEVER piss of the copy-nin further cemented into their minds.