Current mood:	holy smiting for all!
Current music:	really loud rainstorm and the dogs whining

Ack, I almost missed the deadline on copycock!


Kakashi taught Sasuke how to kill a man during the same month he taught him how to use the chidori, though he didn't do both at once.

He hadn't intended to teach Sasuke how to kill; at least not yet. Near the beginning of the month, he had casually--very casually, incredibly causally, so casually that Sasuke would have caught on immediately if he didn't have such tunnel vision where his brother was concerned--in a roundabout way mentioned Itachi, only to have Sasuke freeze up and then turn violent during their taijutsu practice. With that, Kakashi decided to put off the lessons in killing for another year. At the least.

Unfortunately, the two missingnins that had stumbled into their camp one night and then tried to kill them in an attempt to escape had ruined that plan.

Sasuke ran after the one that Kakashi wasn't fighting before he could yell for the boy to stay close. He got rid of the missingnin left to him as quickly as he could, and then took off after Sasuke's scent.

Part of him was glad that the boy thought he could take care of himself, at least, while the other part intended to lecture Sasuke on teamwork the next morning.

Like it will help, the negative part of his mind, the one that told him to cut his losses when it came to Sasuke while there was still time for him to come out emotionally unscathed, thought.

Kakashi told it to shut up and jumped a boulder in his way.

Sasuke had the second missingnin trapped against another boulder, and the light was just good enough that Kakashi could make out the scorch marks on the man and the ground. Sasuke looked like he had the upper hand, and these missingnins couldn't be more than chuunin rank.

Kakashi knew Sasuke would lose anyway, eventually. The missingnin was desperate and fighting to kill, and Sasuke wasn't.

He moved fast enough that the missingnin didn't have a chance to fully turn around before Kakashi had kicked his legs out from beneath him, throwing him to the side. Sasuke caught the man's arm as he fell and yanked him back again, hard enough that Kakashi could hear the shoulder dislocate.

The missingnin stumbled back against Kakashi. He quickly caught the man's chin with one hand, braced the other arm along the line of his neck and head, and jerked to the left.

This break was wetter, and louder, than the sound of the shoulder.

Kakashi held the man for a while longer, making sure that the spine had snapped and the pulse was slowing. Sasuke shifted on his feet a little, and even though it was dark and the moon was only half full, Kakashi could see his eyes were wider than normal as he stared at him.

When the pulse was still, Kakashi let the body drop. A moment later, he crouched slightly and looked at Sasuke.

"This would be a good move," he said, indicating the shurikan that Sasuke had lodged into the bend of the body's elbow, crippling the use of that arm, "if we had intended to capture them. But next time you have to kill, go for the vital points." He waved a hand, briefly indicating the heart and neck.

He gave a Sasuke a hard look that he wished wasn't dampened by the moonlight, and said, "Always try to kill quick and clean. It will leave less trace of your presence; and there's no reason to draw it out. It just leaves you vulnerable to attack from another."

Sasuke dipped his head just enough that Kakashi could no longer see his face from the shadows.

A few moments later he said "Yes" shortly, in his normal voice, and Kakashi could only hope the boy respected him enough to listen and remember.

He stood. "I'll radio this in--someone from Konoha can come take them away."

Sasuke helped him carry the body back to the camp.