A Ninja's Path (Kakashi X Reader)

Chapter Twenty Two

Haru seemed just as shocked by his action as you were, staring at you in horror. But it had all happened so fast, when you felt the knife tear a hole in you, all of Aunt Fuyu's teachings kicked in, setting your brain on autopilot. You calmly whipped around and plunged your own blade straight into his stomach, the dagger that had once belonged to your mother.

When you realized what you had done, you had pulled the knife out and cradled Haru in your arms as he bled out onto the forest floor. There was nothing you could do put beg for forgiveness as your only friend died by your hand.

As you walked back to the village, Haru's body going up in a heated blaze behind you, you remembered his words.

"Get out of this place. Save our village from this horrible darkness. Free us."

You had walked straight back to Aunt Fuyu's house and collapsed on the front porch. You didn't care if she saw you in this weak state, life wasn't worth it without Haru.

"Please, just come back." You had whispered softly.

"I need you, Haru. You were a light in the shadows of this dark place." You curled up in a ball, ignoring the door opening and Fuyu kneeling down beside you.

You just wept and wept, not caring as she prodded at the wound in your shoulder.

"I'm so sorry..." You whispered. You didn't care that Aunt Fuyu was carrying you in her arms, talking about going to the hospital.

You wanted to die. You wanted the wound to grow infected and fester. It was what you deserved.

After all, you were a murderer.

"It should have been me." You opened your eyes, realizing that Kakashi was cradling you in his arms, wrapping you in a warm hug as you sobbed quietly.

"I should have died. Haru deserved to live, he was full of so much light." You shook your head. "And I took that away from him." Kakashi kissed your forehead. "He was just a kid."

The silver haired man pulled back, looking at you intensely. "Don't say that. You were a kid too, right? I read your file, I know you became a Jonin at age 14."

You wiped the tears away. "I understand if you want to end my internship now, I won't be surprised if you don't want to ever see me again-"

"Don't you ever say that, (Y/N) I-" He cut himself off before talking more gently. "For the small time I have known you, I have seen how strong you are. You are brave and selfless, you care about others deeply. You deserve to live just as much as Haru did." He sighed. "And I'm not trying to justify your actions because we both know it was wrong, but, in a way, it wasn't your fault. Your society is corrupted, you had no choice."

You shook your head. "But I did! We were going to run away, I loved him and we were going to start a new life somewhere else. I had the choice, but I chose the wrong one."

Kakashi gave you the most gentle look that nearly took your breath away. "There are no wrong choices in life, everything happens for a reason. Haru died so you could become a ninja, so that you could become stronger. His death gave you an inner strength that I am still in awe of today." He gave you a soft smile. "And you had been talking about getting help before, right? I'm assuming that Haru had told you to save your people from their corrupt society. That's why you came to the Leaf Village, right?"

You nodded, breathing deeply as you felt your tears dry up.

"So then maybe Haru died so that you could save your people. Maybe it was less of a murder and more of a... sacrifice. His death can save generations of children from suffering the same fate as you and Haru. He could be the key to stopping this violent rite of passage in your village." Kakashi firmly grabbed you by the shoulders, looking you dead in the eye. "Think about it, if your friend didn't die, we wouldn't be here talking about this right now. You would be far off some place living the rest of your life happily with Haru, but... your country would still suffer. But because of his sacrifice, you can save your people."