[Fic] Up on the Angel’s Shoulders

[branchandroot]

Cross-post from my archive.

Fandom/Arc: Avalanche, Naruto
Characters/Pairings: Hatake Kakashi, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Sasuke
Summary: Kakashi achieves the Mangekyou Sharingan, turning to his past to do it. His past visits him while he recovers. Takes place just after Chapter Seven of Half Without Another One and "And We'll Laugh About It".
Meta: Angst, Drama, Angst, Fluff, Did I Mention Angst? Also Gore, I-5
Wordcount: 4848

The Sharingan's greatest single use to him was not expanded perception, or the ability to copy others' techniques, or even intimidation value. It's greatest use was as camouflage. No one had to wonder why the man with a thousand jutsu kept winning; the answer was self evident.

It was also wrong.

Read: Up on the Angel's Shoulders

Comments

[annotated_em]

Oh, Kakashi, you idiot.

[branchandroot]

Yes, he really is sometimes. I'm sure he'd have turned Minato's hair white, if he hadn't been dead already.

[hokuton_punch]

Ahhhhhhh, so fantastic - I love this theory about the alternate way of activating the Mangekyou! (I'm still really dying to know the canon way Kakashi did it, but yours seems quite plausible.) And oh my gosh the ending with Minato, KIND OF TEARING UP. ;o; Just beautiful.

[branchandroot]

*hearts* Thank you! Thinking about it, this seemed plausible (not that I'm convinced Kishimoto actually /knows/ how Kakashi got his). And Minato! I just had to bring him in, if only to explain why Kakashi didn't actually, you know, psychologically bleed out after doing that to himself. Poor guy.

[edenfalling]

I am torn between saying, "Oooh, neat theory!" and "Ow, my heart."

[branchandroot]

*grins* Total win! That was pretty much where I was aiming, yeah. I have no idea whether Kishimoto thought it out beforehand or not, but this is what made the most sense to me considering what we know.

[edenfalling]

From the moment Kakashi displayed his version of Mangekyo, I figured it probably had something to do with his various dead people -- Obito, Rin, or Minato. My pet theory is that whatever happened to Rin between the Kakashi Gaiden and the start of the manga (because she's pretty clearly not around in "present-day" time, or she'd be mother-henning Kakashi all the time) was somehow Kakashi's fault -- whether advertently, as in he killed her to stop her from talking under torture or something, or inadvertently, as in what happened to Obito -- and he took it to heart and thus wound up with a funky eye. But going after Mangekyou deliberately and after the fact is equally interesting!

[branchandroot]

Yeah, it's a real bind; I mean, does a person have to know it's a possibility to get the Mangekyou? Or is it automatic? If it's automatic, shouldn't Kakashi have had it already? Or did he just not know what it was (which isn't doing his alleged high intelligence any favors, but anyway)? I can only imagine that he had the potential and experience already and after Itachi came around he decided to call on it in some way.

[theodosia21]

Awww, Minato-sensei. *hearts*

[branchandroot]

Isn't he a sweet-heart? Thinking about it, Kakashi must have been giving him regular heart-attacks over the years; I didn't wonder for long that he jumped at the chance to have a few words in person.