A/N: I just pulled an explanation out of my … behind. But it's more important that Minato is back, right? :D Kakashi is an epic troll in this one (trolling Shikamaru and Naruto left and right)
"Happy Birthday, Naruto." Minato grinned, but the tears glistening in his eyes were obvious. Kakashi was silent, not interrupting what little time he had with his son.
His respect for Naruto grew stronger. Instead of telling his father to stay, not to leave him, he grinned back, trying to reassure him. Naruto had truly matured. If Kakashi was in his place, he knew that he wouldn't be able to let Minato go wordlessly. There was so much he wanted to say, like: "Minato-sensei, why did it have to be like this?" "Were you happy to see me, too?" But Kakashi held his tongue. Even if they did have more time, he wouldn't want to reveal all of his feelings in front of his students and the other Hokage.
When Minato disappeared, he knew that he had disappeared forever. There would be no more Rinnegan for the Rinne Tensei, and no one would perform Edo Tensei to bring him back.
After they returned to Konoha and started reconstructing the village, Kakashi became the new Hokage, true to Obito's words. Everyone knew he was a stand-in only, and he himself thought the same. He would try to pave the way for Naruto to his best abilities. He might not have the charismatic air about him that the Shodaime had, or the same negotiation skills and intimidating aura that the Nidaime had, but he had his own fortes. He knew he was a smooth talker, getting people to do things without them realizing it. His lazy demeanor and easy going attitude made it easy for others to underestimate him. Kakashi was no fan of politics, but he recruited Yamato as his personal advisor and accepted his new position.
Four months had passed. He smiled wistfully, as he looked out of the window. His cooling breath fogged up the window. Everyone seemed to be happy, some children were playing in the snow, and he saw the members of the old Genin teams. They could finally live in peace, but he wasn't naïve enough to think that no new conflicts would arise. They had paid a steep price for their newfound freedom, requiring the death of numerous of his comrades. He still remembered how, years ago, Gai would ask him to eat lunch with Kurenai and Asuma, only for him to ignore them. Now, no other opportunity would arise. Asuma was gone for good. He hoped that by the time there would be new a conflict to solve Naruto would old enough to take over, since he had an uncanny ability to make everyone follow him and resolve conflicts bloodlessly. He briefly wondered if Naruto would have turned out the same way, if his parents had been alive.
"Hokage-sama, here are the new Genin recruit's files. I thought you might want to take a look at them." One of his direct subordinates, Shikamaru, dropped a bunch of files onto his desk, adding to the mess of unfinished paperwork.
"Maa, maa Shikamaru. Why don't you take a look?" Kakashi coaxed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Hokage-sama, I'll leave you to it." With a loud bang, he had left the room. Kakashi let his head drop to the desk. Why had he accepted the position again? He supported his head with his left hand, while he leafed through the files Shikamaru had provided him with. At least he only had to read and sign paperwork; he didn't have to write any letters or contracts himself. The new recruits looked promising, and he smiled a little at the cute and chubby faces some of them had. It seemed like just yesterday when he accepted Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura as his students. He hated to admit it back then, but Sandaime gave him a new reason to live. Back then he had no one, but when they became his students, he finally had something to fight for. He knew that a Shinobi's strength resulted from his resolve to protect what was precious to him.
"Tell Tenzo to come here!" Kakashi called through his closed door. One of his Anbu immediately reacted.
"Immediately, Hokage-sama," he replied, before vanishing.
Kakashi had recruited none of Naruto's friends into Anbu as they didn't seem suited for the job, and had also drastically reduced the amount of Anbu In general. He didn't want to burden the new generation with the dirty and ungrateful work Anbu-missions consisted of. He continued his paperwork while waiting for Yamato, occasionally reading some pages of the newest Ecchi novel he had acquired the day before. He was snickering quietly, a perverted grin on his face, when Yamato entered the room.
"You called for me, sempai?" His old habit of calling Kakashi sempai still persisted. When he saw that he was reading one of his novels again, he looked at him, exasperated. "Maybe I should come back later."
"Maa, maa… You know it's Hokage-sama for you now," Kakashi teased him, "but I do have something to tell you. I want everybody to implement the bell test as a means to test the new Genin's resolve." Kakashi had folded his hands in front of his face, not betraying any emotion. Even though Yamato didn't fully understand his reasoning, he knew it must be important for his sempai.
"Hai, I will let all the new teachers know. Is that all?"
"Teamwork is important, Tenzo. Remember that." Kakashi turned his chair around, staring down at the bustling people in the streets. "You're dismissed."
Kakashi had assigned missions and new positions to most of Naruto's old classmates, sending Ino-Shika-Cho on reconnaissance missions, while TenTen and Lee were mostly sent on escorting missions. All in all, he was quite pleased with himself. There was no dissatisfaction as far as he knew, and people accepted their assigned positions. His only problem was that he didn't know what to do with Naruto and Sasuke. While Sakura had been assigned to the hospital, blooming in her new position, he had left the two others to their own devices, claiming that they needed to take a well-deserved holiday. Naruto had pouted, shouting that he wanted to go on missions, while Sasuke simply scoffed. He was still his gruff self, but Kakashi noticed the small, fond smile he sent Naruto's way. The two of them mostly passed their time by training with each other, or finding other training partners. Frankly, Kakashi didn't know what to do with them. Even if he had fully pardoned Sasuke, it wasn't easy to send him on missions, there was still some distrust. Naruto mostly didn't want to leave Sasuke's side, but there were also no missions that were suited for Naruto. He was so strong that everything Kakashi had to offer seemed to be way below his abilities.
"I need to talk to Shikamaru," Kakashi called.
"Hai," the other Anbu guard called, leaving to fetch Shikamaru.
Kakashi walked over to the window, putting his hand to the glass. Whenever he was lost in his thoughts, he liked to look down at the people in the streets, even if he only looked, but did not see. He often wondered how Minato would have handled the situation. The man seemed to be graceful, polite and patient in any situation. He was sure that the tragedy surrounding Sasuke's family could have been avoided with Minato's diplomatic skills. He also wondered if Minato was just as bored as he was by his current position, although he highly doubted it. Minato had once told him that he liked Obito because they had the same dream. "I've wanted to become Hokage ever since I could talk," he had said, grinning proudly. No, Kakashi shook his head; Minato would have accepted the routine work in a more dignified manner. He chuckled quietly, when he thought of Tsunade. At least he was more suited than her for the job.
"Hokage-sama, you wanted to speak to me?" Shikamaru's bored voice shook him from his thoughts.
"Yes, Shikamaru. We both know that you're the smartest ninja in the village right now, isn't that true?" Kakashi began.
"Your sweet talking won't get you anywhere. I won't babysit any Genin," Shikamaru immediately responded. Kakashi grinned.
"Ha, that's not it. Although it would be interesting to see how you handle children, ne?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Actually, it's concerning Sasuke and Naruto. I'm not sure what I should do with them." Shikamaru looked at him, surprised.
"Aren't you their teacher? You should know best which abilities they possess. However, I understand your concerns. You are concerned with Sasuke's status as traitor that is still present in the villagers' minds, despite your official pardon. As for Naruto, you know he won't leave Sasuke's side, now that he has returned. Other than that, you feel like Naruto is strong, but is neither suited for reconnaissance nor guarding missions, as he is too loud and too recognizable." Shikamaru quickly assessed the situation.
"I knew you would see my point." Kakashi paused. "Well, what do you propose?"
"It might be best to send them on a long-term mission, so things can smooth over, and the villagers can get used to the idea of Sasuke returning to Konoha. Naruto will also have his wish fulfilled, as he will be both able to spend time with Sasuke, but also be useful to his village."
Kakashi seemed to think Shikamaru's answer over. "I have also come to a similar conclusion, but wanted to consult you first. Don't you think that sending Sasuke away on a mission will renew the villager's suspicions about him?"
"I have also thought of that possibility. I still think it's a good way to resolve the situation. We can print new history textbooks for school in which we will describe Sasuke's deeds in the fight against Kaguya and also introduce a holiday. We would celebrate our victory over Kaguya and our liberation."
"Shikamaru, your ideas are brilliant. I think I will implement them. Why don't you come up with the texts and the name for the festival then?" Kakashi grinned slyly.
"Whatever." Shikamaru waved his hand, realizing that he had been baited by Kakashi. It was obvious that the man had already thought of similar proceedings, but was too lazy to urge them on himself. Sometimes he wondered if their new Hokage wasn't almost as lazy as him.
"Dismissed."
The next day, Kakashi called Sasuke and Naruto to his office.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you have a mission for us?" Naruto was jumping up and down.
"It's 'Hokage-sama', Naruto." Kakashi winked. Naruto pouted.
"Just you wait and see! I will become the Rokudaime!" Sasuke had rolled his eyes, remaining silent throughout their exchange. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. That boy was still too serious for his own good. It reminded him a lot of how he had been before Obito's death.
"I just wanted to spar." Naruto grimaced. "That's what you called us here for? You old geezer won't even survive for five minutes against me!" He pointed his thumb to his chest, smiling proudly. "I am the strongest ninja there is!" He puffed his chest.
"Dobe." Sasuke said.
"Alright, the strongest, together with Sasuke." Naruto conceded. Sasuke smirked.
"Even if I won't last five minutes, won't you grant your poor, old teacher's request?" Kakashi tried to invoke feelings of guilt in Naruto. "It gets so lonely in here. I'm all alone… all day long…" He sniffed.
"I'm sorry! Let's spar now!" Naruto shouted, dragging Sasuke behind him.
They met each other at the training grounds. Kakashi procured a bell.
"What, this again? You know we are going to win!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist into the air.
"Who is 'we'? I'm going to team up with Sasuke, and we will try to get the bell from you." Kakashi smirked, looking at Sasuke who smirked back.
"Nani?! You can't do that, I was supposed to team up with Sasuke," Naruto cried indignantly.
"When did we ever say that you were going to team up with Sasuke?" If Kakashi wasn't wearing a mask, Naruto would have seen his mocking grin more clearly.
"Tche," he pouted, "give it to me." He held out his hand, took the bell and attached it to his belt. Then he assumed a fighting stance.
Kakashi and Sasuke also prepared themselves, looking at each other, silently communicating their strategy.
"Let the battle begin!" Kakashi shouted, running towards Naruto.
As he was still taller than Sasuke, who was right behind him, Naruto wasn't able to properly track Sasuke's movements. Kakashi took out his kunai, jumping at Naruto, who jumped back. When Naruto tried to hit Kakashi, he used his substitution Jutsu, teleporting behind Naruto who immediately noticed his bluff. By then, however, Sasuke had seized the opportunity the smoke of the substitution Jutsu provided, and snatched the bell. Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, leaning close to his ear.
"You lose," he drawled, before appearing in front of him.
"No fair! You tricked me! How did you come up with a strategy so fast?"
"You underestimated me, Naruto. Remember it's not only important to take your opponent's skills into consideration, but also their relationship with their team."
Naruto scratched his head, looking at him quizzically. "What relationship?"
"Well," Kakashi began, "take Sasuke and me, for example. We have known each other for more than four years, and I am familiar with Sasuke's fighting style. That means we will be able to form a strategy a lot faster than people who haven't known each other for a long time, which is why we assign teams and mostly keep the roster."
Naruto raised his fist. "Yosh! I got it, thanks Kakashi sensei. You might be old, but you're not useless." He grinned.
Kakashi smiled dangerously. Although Naruto was the best at inspiring others, he was also the best at insulting them unknowingly. Tsunade's constant outbursts were the most prominent example. He decided to overlook Naruto's comment.
"I made the bell test mandatory. I think teamwork is the most important quality of a good ninja. What do you think, Sasuke, Naruto?"
"I think it's a great idea!" Naruto seemed enthusiastic about his decision. Sasuke only gave a noncommittal "Hn" in response. Kakashi was sure that the mission he was going to assign the both of them to would help boost Sasuke's team morale.
"I actually do have a mission for you." Naruto rejoiced only to be more subdued as Kakashi continued. "It will be a long-term one. I will send you to the ruins of Uzushiogakure to investigate if there is anything of use for Konoha there. I calculated the mission time to be three months, including travel time and research on site."
"That's so boring! We won't even fight!" Kakashi knew that Naruto was itching for some real action, but he knew that even Naruto would understand his reasons.
"I know that. But gathering information is just as important as fighting. Also, I think it's time you understand where you come from. You know that your mother's last name was Uzumaki, right? It's time for you to get to know your roots."
Naruto enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei! You're always thinking of what's best for me. He felt a small patch of wetness on his black clothes, having left the Jounin vest at the office. He hugged Naruto back, slightly. The guilt was welling inside him. In fact, he knew that he was not always thinking for what was best for Naruto. The first twelve years of his life he hadn't acknowledged him, and he also never told him about his father. In fact, he knew that nobody had ever told him about his father. He didn't know when he would be ready to talk about Minato-sensei. Briefly, he looked over to Sasuke who mustered him with a calculating look. Kakashi smiled softly, making Sasuke blush faintly at having been caught. He understood his feelings of protectiveness and knew that Naruto was in good hands.
He told them that they could leave whenever they were ready, but to report to him first. Satisfied, he went back to his office. Even if his break had been less than half an hour, he felt invigorated. He didn't pause to read even one page of his novel that day. At the end of the day, he was dead tired when he arrived at his apartment. He opened the door slowly. As soon as he had set one foot into his apartment, he froze. There was a trace of chakra in the room; someone must have been there. He took out a kunai from his porch, slowly and silently almost closing the door. He stalked into the room, checking for any differences, like exploding tags or traps. When he decided that there were no threats, he relaxed slightly, but didn't let his guard down. He checked every room in his apartment, until he arrived at the kitchen. On the kitchen table, he found a brief note. "Come to the hospital tomorrow at 1pm. don't tell anyone, Tsunade" it read. Kakashi finally let his guard down. So it was only Tsunade that had… broken into his apartment. He decided that he had to reinforce the barriers surrounding his apartment, even if it was the legendary Lady Tsunade who had evaded them. He also needed to ask why the hell she had to break into his apartment, instead of sending him a message to his office.
The next day, he caught himself drifting off again and again wondering what was hidden in Tsunade's mysterious words. At eleven, he played with his pen, deciding that he was done for the day. He had two hours to go, so he decided to invite one of the Anbu guards into his office to play go, threatening both not to tell a word to anyone. After he successfully found a way to be busy, he left his office half an hour before he needed to be at the hospital. He decided to walk, since it was still early. He had slung a scarf around his throat, and wore his winter coat. It looked like Minato-sensei's old Hokage coat, only that it had a fur collar like the Nidaime's armor and was made of thicker fiber. He didn't want to run, as that would appear too eager. He had appearances to keep up, after all. Time passed quickly while having to greet civilians and before he knew it, he had to hurry up to be on time. He didn't enter through the front door, afraid that there would be too many patients trying to thank him for saving them or something equally time consuming. Instead, he directly jumped to the window belonging to Tsunade's office, knocking on it. He prided himself on being only ten minutes late. Tsunade was talking to Sakura, seemingly chastising her. When she saw Kakashi, her eyes narrowed. She opened the window.
"Kakashi, there you are. Sakura, you're dismissed."
"Hai, Shishou!" Sakura saluted, before showing herself out.
"Sit down, Kakashi. This is going to be… a shock for you." She nibbled on her lip, seemingly looking for the right words.
Kakashi sat down on the chair in front of her large, wooden table, and waited obediently. He knew better than to crack his usual jokes with this fiery tempered woman, resembling Kushina a lot (Kushina was a lot less scary though). She put one hand on the table, supporting her weight on it. There was seriousness in her face that didn't seem to belong to the peaceful times they were living in.
"Do you know how the Reaper Death Seal Jutsu works?" He nodded. Since he was the Hokage, he had access to all forbidden Jutsu and had taken the time to study all of them, mastering some of them in the process. He wasn't as talented as the Sandaime, who was known as "Professor" due to his mastering of all Jutsu there were in Konoha, but he wasn't going to be far behind.
"It lets the user use the seal in exchange for their own life, doomed to a never ending existence in the Shinigami's body." He recited monotonously. He had no idea what she wanted to hear.
"That's correct. However, Orochimaru, that bastard, did something good for once." She smirked slightly, seemingly reminiscing. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. He had thought that there was no love lost between them. "He found a way to undo the effects of the soul not being able to enter the afterlife."
"That's an extraordinary achievement, even for someone like him. This means we can, if the need arises, use this powerful Jutsu without repercussions." He thought about how Minato and the Sandaime had sacrificed their souls to the Shinigami's to protect their village.
"Well, it's not that easy," Tsunade started, dampening the impact of her revelation, "only very powerful ninja can do so. But I suppose you are right, it's an immense relief." There was tenderness in the look she aimed at Kakashi that made him uncomfortable. He had never seen the strong woman's vulnerable side. "You know how both the Yondaime and Sandaime sacrificed their souls?"
Kakashi grimaced. "Yes, Lady Tsunade," he ground out, clenching his teeth. "I'm well aware of that, I was there the night the Kyuubi attacked, and Minato-sensei and Kushina-san died."
"Except, Minato didn't die," she said simply, as if stating that the weather was good. Kakashi squeezed his hands tightly, and looked at her. If that was her idea of a joke -
"What are you talking about! I saw him die," he shouted, not realizing that he had raised his volume so much. He was angry at her for making the hope well inside him. He had seen how Minato had died, how Kushina had died. He was at their funeral.
"He didn't die, not exactly. Kushina was beyond saving, as she had been very weak from having just given birth and was impaled on the Kyuubi's claw, but they managed to save Minato's body. During the funeral, you didn't see his body, did you?"
Kakashi was astonished by her claims. It was true that they hadn't seen Minato's body, but he had assumed that it was so that the Yondaime would be remembered as a hero; so that his image wouldn't be tarnished by the bloody corpse he had been at the end.
"No, I did not," he affirmed her statement. She looked at him again, mustering him.
"I have something to show you. Follow me." Without waiting for an answer, she left her office, walking down the corridor in a brisk pace. Kakashi immediately followed, though he wasn't sure what she was getting at. Even if Minato's body had survived, there was no soul. It was the same as being dead. On their way into the depths of the hospital they were mostly left alone, for which he was grateful. There were a few greetings here and there, but they didn't try to make conversation, probably discouraged by his pensive expression. At last, they arrived at an iron door. Tsunade turned around.
"No matter what your reaction might be, you have to promise me that you will keep your silence. It is mandatory that no one will hear of what you are going to see. The only reason why I am informing you is because you are the new Hokage."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. It will remain our secret." Seemingly satisfied by his answer, she nodded gravely, before forming hand signs to open the door. When it finally swung open, his mouth dropped open. There were a few rooms with glass doors, containing people. It seemed barbaric to hold them here, where no sunlight could reach.
"I know what you are thinking Kakashi, but some of these patients have illnesses that we can't control. Some of them have to remain hidden, due to the Sandaime's orders. I do not agree with his methods which is another reason why I took you here. In time, you may revisit these patient's identities and decide on their destiny, after consulting my medical expertise, of course."
They walked further down the corridor, before they arrived at the last door. Tsunade arrived first and opened the door. As she was standing in front of him, his view was blocked. When she finally stepped aside, he didn't know what to think. There was a man sitting with his back turned towards them, reading a book, judging by the way he held his hands. He had unruly blonde hair and a lithe, almost sickly thin figure.
"Minato, I brought Kakashi."
The blonde's head whipped around, and Kakashi and the man looked at each other, shocked. Even if the man looked malnourished and his skin was sickly pale, there was no denying that those ocean blue eyes belonged to his sensei- Minato-sensei…
"Kakashi…" Minato whispered. His voice cracked and sounded hoarse, as if it was rusty from disuse.
"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi walked towards the bed, sinking to his knees. Slowly, he extended a hand, letting it wander towards Minato, before stopping just before it touched him. It was like a Genjutsu that would fade if he just said "Release". The Minato look-alike stretched out his own hand, covering Kakashi's. It was cold and dry. Kakashi turned towards Tsunade, a searching look in his eyes. He was looking for an explanation, any would do.
"I will leave you to it," she simply said, giving them some semblance of privacy, although Kakashi was sure that she was standing just outside the door, listening to any words that were going to be exchanged between him and this ghost.
When he turned towards Minato again, his heart clenched. There was his gentle smile that he always craved, the smile that made you feel accepted, appreciated and wanted. A smile that was irresistible, yet effortless. He mustered the man's face. There were a few minor wrinkles, but nothing to distract from the handsome features and beautiful eyes. Unconsciously, Kakashi had put his left hand on the man's knee, holding it tightly. Embarrassed, he loosened his grip, and retracted his hand. He heard a soft chuckle.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." The gentle voice was filled with mirth.
"I have," Kakashi answered flatly. "Care to explain?" He still wasn't convinced that it was really Minato in front of him. He had seen the man vanish on Naruto's birthday. For all he knew, he could be one of Orochimaru's horrible experiments.
"Well, how do I start… I don't understand this myself. I woke up one day, in this room. I neither knew who I was nor where I was. I only noticed the tubes sticking out of my arms, and panicked. Apparently, it triggered some kind of mechanism that made Tsunade-sama," he nodded towards the door, showing Kakashi that he, too, was aware of her presence, "appear and …" Minato paused, he seemed to search for the right words to describe the bizarre story he was hearing. "She said that my body had been saved, but that it was brain dead. I'm sure that you know what the Jutsu I used does to the caster." He looked at Kakashi, waiting for an affirmation. Kakashi simply nodded. He didn't trust his brain to form any coherent words. "It seems like Orochimaru-sama found a way to undo the sacrifice the Jutsu entails."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. It was so like Minato to even be polite to such an enemy of Konoha. "And- you just woke up suddenly?" The story sounded rather unbelievable.
"I'm not sure of the details myself. Tsunade-sama told me her hypothesis. She assumes that I was in a coma since my soul was sealed away, but my body had not died. After the fight against Kaguya, my Edo Tensei body vanished, as you recall. I thought I was finally going to enter the afterlife, but I woke up here. I believe that, instead of entering the afterlife, my soul returned to my body."
"I see… And when did you wake up?" Kakashi asked tensely. Minato looked down at the hand that gripped his tightly. His eyes turned sad.
"I woke up two weeks after our fight." The last words had been merely a whisper, laced with guilt. Kakashi was fuming, but he wasn't angry at Minato. The man had probably tried to protect Naruto from more disappointment by choosing to hide the fact that he returned to the land of the living. Without saying anything else, Kakashi marched to the door, fully intent on giving Tsunade a piece of his mind.
"You had no right! I am the Hokage! It's my duty to know everything that goes on in this village!" He said in a low voice, anger shining through his accusation. It was rare for him to show emotion openly, but they were talking about Minato's wellbeing.
"See, I knew that this would happen. You are blinded by your emotions, Kakashi. Otherwise you would see that this was for the best. I knew you would not be able to assess the situation rationally. Think about it, how could I just tell you that your old sensei is alive?" Her gaze softened and she put one hand on his shoulder, in a rare gesture of comfort. "I read the Sandaime's comments about you. I know that Minato was rather… special to you."
Kakashi flinched. So he was that transparent after all.
"Also- what would have happened if we had just let Naruto meet his father, only for him to pass away a few days later? Naruto is strong, but I don't think he is strong enough to see his father die- thrice."
"You're right. Please excuse my indiscretion Tsunade-sama. May I ask how you planned to proceed with this situation- now that I am aware of it?"
"I think we both agree that it is necessary to hide his identity for now. Incidentally, I am aware that Naruto recently left the village on a long-time mission. This way we will not find ourselves in the unpleasant situation of lying to him. I assume that we both agree that Haruno Sakura must also be kept in the dark about this, despite being my disciple."
Kakashi nodded, her words making perfect sense to him. "I completely agree with your assessment. However, I strongly object to holding Minato-sensei here. He is a hero, he needs better treatment." The protectiveness in his words and voice were undeniable. Tsunade smiled.
"I was thinking the same. I propose that you will take the Yondaime under your wing. It would be best if he could live with you, in case he needed any assisting."
Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. He was undeniably overjoyed by the fact that Minato was alive, but he had doubts about his capability to take care of him.
"I object to this proposal. I am incapable of taking care of him, as medicine is not my area of expertise." He declined politely.
"Nonsense, you don't need medical knowledge. This was another reason why I only now inform you of the situation. I made sure that he was completely healed. I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"That is… nice of you." Kakashi walked back into the room, eager to see Minato again and ask him what he thought was the best way to proceed.
"Minato-sensei… Lady Tsunade said that you should move in with me, do you agree with this?" Kakashi tried not to sound too eager. There was a wistful smile on Minato's face.
"I agree… I have nowhere to go…" He looked at the sheets, letting his fingers wander over them aimlessly. Kakashi bit his lip.
"It's decided then. You are moving in- today." He sat down on the bed, searching for Minato's gaze. Minato looked at him, smiling sadly. There were a lot of words he wanted to say, but it would have to wait.