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A dry heat spread out through the crater Naruto had created, but the blond laid sprawled out, face down and breathing shallowly. A bruise, oozing with blood, was forming on his forehead from the kick Sasuke had brutally smashed into the side of his teammates head. The Uchiha was also off his feet, breathing harshly as he tried to shake the ringing out of his head.
Sakura was crying, he really wished she would stop. Her tears sounded like the kunai Iruka-sensei used to drag over the chalkboard to get their attention in the academy. Kakashi...Kakashi was around somewhere.
He had punched Sasuke, that much the Uchiha knew. Thrashing violently when his wrists were grabbed, he spat the blood pooling in his mouth out and then coughed when a messy jet of flames beamed from his mouth. A disapproving tsk rang out, and Kakashi locked his hands with chakra-blocking cuffs.
He was still hacking up leftover flames, mingled with blood that surely was coming from his struggling lungs. All of this because of one backhanded comment that had sent Sasuke into a mindless rage.
Kakashi was whispering something to him, clearly not wanting Sakura to hear but Sasuke wasn’t comprehending. He kicked out and yelped when the white-haired man smacked his leg away with a sharp slap. “ Down, Sasuke. Stay down.”
He stilled, breathing harshly and inhaling the smoke from the grass he had incinerated. Kakashi’s grip didn’t loosen, if anything it became just as heavy as the hold from the cuffs. “Keep breathing-”
Sasuke thrashed, a muffled grunt of rage escaping him, “Get off of me, you bastard. Get off!”
“No.” Was Kakashi’s simple answer. His voice was curt and if he wasn’t holding both of Sasuke’s arms down the genin would have assumed he was reading his nasty book. But the man wasn’t. He was staring right at Sasuke, uncovered sharingan making contact with Sasuke’s own wild eyes. “You’re going to breathe, get ahold of your chakra, and then apologize to Sakura.”
His eyes were wet, a consequence of the smoke floating around his face and his already fragile emotions. Naruto…"He said my-”
“Shhh, I know what he said. I’ll deal with that later. But you need to breathe before I have to take you down.” Kakashi spoke factually. Knee pressing softly into Sasuke’s back. The younger sharingan user closed his eyes at the casual threat. He knew exactly what being taken down entailed and he wanted nothing to do with the more serious side of Kakashi right now so…he exhaled and inhaled.
Inhaled burned grass, exhaled a tiny line of fire.
Inhaled Kakashi’s earthy scent, and exhaled smoke.
“Good. That’s good.” Kakashi finally said after a long moment of him just breathing. The cuffs came off with a click, but Kakashi’s gloved hands still held onto Sasuke’s wrists. His chakra was unrestrained now, and he could just blow a puff of fire out and disappear.
But…Kakashi would find him no matter what. He knew that. So, he let Kakashi manipulate his body into a sitting position and stared at the crater Naruto and Sakura were in.
He hated how Naruto could just say the things that could set him off. Hated that the massacre… the bloodshed of that night could be held over his head by people who weren’t Itachi.
He couldn’t even remember what Naruto said now. And he knew Sakura definitely hadn’t heard the end of Naruto’s words over Sasuke’s initial outraged shriek. No, she had only felt Sasuke’s rough hands shoving her aside as he went to attack the blond-haired boy. ‘Apologize to Sakura.’ He would do that. He didn’t like the look of her scraped up limbs, especially not when he caused it.
“I’m not apologizing to him.” Sasuke spoke quietly, throat sore from the screaming and fire and smoke-
“I didn’t tell you to.” Kakashi said just as quietly, grip loosening, “I told you to stay down and breathe.”
The younger ninja’s nostrils flared as he considered the crater again. Naruto would be fine, that thing , whatever it was, would heal him. And Sakura was fine , she’d probably gotten those exact scratches playing during recess at the Academy.
“Just stay down Sasuke…I don’t want you to burn yourself.” Kakashi spoke, hands rubbing the bruises starting to form on Sasuke’s wrists as he took in the genin’s defeated countenance. “Just breathe.”