Rogue.

Ninja Dogs To The Rescue

"Shoo, Shoo! Get out of here!" 

Gai's voice woke Kakashi, who found himself in extreme physical pain that caused him to wince even as he gently tried to turn his head to look at the bushy browed sensei who was waving his hands wildly at the window beside Kakashi's bed. He narrowed his eyes in confusion when he realised he was in his apartment, in his bed when the last thing he'd remembered was fighting Itachi and Kisame at the harbour. 

"What is it?" He managed to croak out, his voice weak from strain. 

"Kakashi!" He heard one of his other friends, Kurenai whimper as she appeared at his side. He hadn't seen her, but he assumed if she was here than Asuma would be as well. "Shh, don't talk.. You need to rest." 

Kakashi rolled his eyes, ignoring her as he used his elbows to prop himself up on his bed. He was never one for being babied, or for listening to nurses for that matter never mind his childhood friends. He pushed some of his silver hair from his eyes, realising his headband was gone and noticed a black bird sitting in the window where Gai had been flailing a few seconds ago. He recognised it was a crow, but as it turned his head to him he noticed it had a sharingan as well. 

There was barely a blur before the room around him was replaced with a rooftop in the desert village, Sunagakure. The sudden change was almost dizzying and it took him a moment to steady himself on his legs, though his body no longer hurt. He gazed around the village, now tinted red but he didn't have to wait for long for an answer. 

"Do you remember this day?" Itachi's voice came from beside him, he hadn't been there only a second ago. 

Kakashi gave a dark laugh, remembering the last time Itachi had caught him in a genjutsu. "Here to finish the job?" 

"I won't kill you like this, Kakashi." Itachi conceded. "I need that eye of yours."

Kakashi was about to cuss him out when he saw something out of the corner of his eye moving at the edge of the building. He watched as a small girl, no more than a shadow, crawled up onto the roof and raised her arms in triumph. She had no words but she suddenly turned around in reaction to something, and glared at him. The memory came back, she was the useless little Kazekage child he'd met all those years ago. He'd heard she had been killed by her youngest brother, Gaara. He turned to Itachi with confusion but Itachi simply nodded back towards the girl. When Kakashi turned back the shadow version of her changed, giving her a woman's body with a long ponytail and what looked like Itachi's old Anbu mask. Recognition hit him like a freight train, he'd seen her before not only as a girl but as the woman he now saw. She was the Root girl he'd chased through the village, the one who was sending him notes. He'd never made the connection of her mask and Itachi's before as his had red kabuki paint where hers was purple. "Kairi..." 

"She's grown into an outstanding kunoichi.." Itachi mused, almost in awe of the girl. 

"Why are you showing me this?" Kakashi demanded as he swung around to face the rogue shinobi. 

He saw the shadowed shape shifting again in the corner of his eye and turned to watch as tiny sand-like particles swelled up into a sphere around the girl. It reminded him of Gaara's ultimate defense Jutsu and he wondered if the girl had the same technique as her brother. He began to wonder if she really did have dark intentions for Naruto, had she joined Itachi after all? Was she part of the Akatsuki now? 

"She's inherited the magnetic release jutsu of the third Kazekage." Itachi sounded utterly fascinated. "She would be an asset to our organization." 

Kakashi let a sigh of relief out, that meant she wasn't already working with them. If she could crush people the way Gaara could, she would be deadly in the hands of the Akatsuki. He eyed the shadow again, thinking back to the conversation he and Itachi had with the Fourth Kazekage all those years ago. "He wouldn't chose you, not now, after what you did." He spat out words like venom. 

"He seemed to favour me." The Uchiha's eyes had somewhat softened, Kakashi could tell he too was recalling the conversation. 

"I'll kill her before you can corrupt her." Kakashi growled with determination. He owed this girl nothing; Itachi was right, Rasa would have chosen him for her if things had gone differently. He'd done worse for the sake of the village, he'd lived with worse. He would kill her if he had to, no matter what was supposed to be. 

The scene around them shifted to a clearing in the forest, a small stream running through the middle of it. As he gazed around he saw Kisame with the shark blade raised, about to run through the black metallic sphere that formed her defenses, the front of it already smashed out like an egg as Kairi stood there, frozen in place, her eyes wide in shock. Itachi appeared in front of her and ran a hand along her sharp jawline as he looked at her and then to Kakashi. 

Itachi raised a hand and a flock of crows shot towards Kakashi's face, causing him to put his arm up and protect his eyes. Itachi's dark laughter rang in his ears as he began to fall into nothing. "She's already mine." The rogue vowed.

As soon as Kakashi realised the genjutsu had broken he shoved himself upwards off his bed to the protests of his friends. He wove his signs and slammed his palm against the blankets before they could stop him. He was weak, and had only managed to summon three of his ninken but they would be enough.

"Buru, Bisuke, Pakkun.." He addressed them with a weak voice. "Naruto has left the village with Jiraiya, there is a girl following them who smells of Sunagakure... Find her and bring her back to the village, or kill her."

The ninken had each of his students scents just in case anything ever happened, and all they would need to do now was follow Naruto's scent until they picked up Kairi's. He knew she would be following him, it seemed to be her mission as he'd noticed her hovering around a few times before. He collapsed back to the bed, panting and exhausted as the dogs left out the window.

"Kakashi what was that about?" Asuma asked, looking comically confused with his cigarette dangling from his lip.

"She's dangerous, and the Akatsuki want her."

"If she's following Naruto... Itachi is following both of them!" Kurenai pointed out.

"Sasuke!" Gai jumped up and left the room so quickly that the breeze following him knocked a pile of reports to the floor.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi's weak voice was fading.

"He came in here as we were talking about Itachi and the Akatsuki." Asuma shrugged.

"Dammit!" Kakashi burst, trying to force himself off the bed again. "He's gone after Itachi!"

"Kakashi lay down! You are in no shape to help now." Kurenai demanded, as Kakashi still tried to struggle to his feet she sighed "I'm sorry about this.." before she struck a pressure point on his neck and knocked him unconscious.

--x--

Pakkun lead Buru and Bisuke as his nose was the strongest, he found the desert scents layered over Naruto's. There were two distinct smells that fit the profile Kakashi had given him but he knew which one to follow when it mixed with the subtle spicy scent of the Uchiha and the pungent dead fish smell of someone unknown.

"This way!" He barked at the others and they tore off down a trail through the forest.

When Pakkun lifted his head from the ground again, he found a clearing in front of them. A small stream ran through it and not far from the waters banks was what they were looking for. A glittering metallic sphere stood harsh against the nature around it, cracks ran through it like a broken egg and the front was completely smashed out of it. The girl must have been too late with her defenses, but she was lucky they had arrived before the others came back.

Buru approached the egg like shield and gently nudged the girl laying inside until he had flipped her onto his back. Sometimes it paid to be such a large bulldog. Pakkun and Bisuke tossed a rope back and forth around Buru until they had the girl firmly secured and ready for transport.

Pakkun tried to contact Kakashi to let him know they were on their way back but he got no answer from his master. "We need to hurry before the summoning runs out!" He nodded to his two teammates and they headed back to the village at a fast pace.