Back when team 7 was just a bunch of rookies. I know it's not the best written thing, but it's just an idea I've had the past few weeks. Finally decided to write it down. Anyway's, be honest.
When he was a toddler, his father introduced him to the piano. It was a secret talent held in the family and very few outside of the family estate knew of it. In Kakashi's lifetime, only Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Jirarya, Minato and Kushina knew of his skill.
Kakashi had the highest skill level of all his family members, according to his father. His ability to pick up melody's appeared at a very young age and by the age of 6, he began composing some of his own songs. Every song he attempted to play, he was able to play almost flawlessly after only two days of practice. He would completely devote himself to the music in that timespan, however once he acquired a new song. He did not forget it. Each tune he created had a slow, sad tune to it that left whoever heard it in a confused state. Were they to be happy or sad? The passion he held for the piano was also seen in his recognition as the best ninja of his generation.
The moment Kakashi lost his father, he lost his desire to play. He felt a sense of guilt and loneliness whenever he heard or saw a piano. Whenever he did a piano however, he felt a tingle in his finger tips. He felt a sense of guilt and loneliness whenever he heard or saw a piano. With that, he vowed to never play again, nor allow anyone to ever know of his ability. It did not make sense to the ones how knew about it, yet they never questioned it. They respected his decision.
It was after a mission to the Mist when his teammates discovered his hidden talent. Team 7 accompanied by Asuma's team 10 were escorting a merchant team shipping various goods back to their home village. Both teems decided to stay in an inn located in a small town on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, rather than make camp for the night; a treat to the young shinobi.
To the rookie's initial excitement, there was a restaurant and bar in the building. The place wasn't the cleanest; dust and cobwebs covered the tacky decorations and each table had a layer of sticky grey film. No one was able to determine whether it was dirt, spilt drink, or a mixture of both. After several failed attempts to clean the table, all gave up.
Both teams took up large table in the back corner of the establishment. Asuma was able to sense something wrong with Kakashi the moment the mission failed; there was a sense of dread hanging over him that followed him into the restaurant. He didn't want to ask what was wrong; he figured something reminded him of Rin. Though the accident occurred years ago, Kakashi would still have a flash back every now and then when he was triggered. As a result, Kakashi began ordering drinks.
Kakashi was able to hide his drunkenness until the teams finished their strange tasting meals, and went out to explore the small town they were staying in. Asuma and Kakashi sat in silence, Asuma observing Kakashi drink. At this point, he had lost count how many beers he had.
"What's going on?" Asuma asked, "I haven't seen you like this is a year."
Kakashi sat in silence, looking at his now empty glass. He waved to the waiter to signal he wanted another. After he took a sip of his next, he let out a small hiccup. "I swore I saw *hic* them back in the mist" he finally said. Asuma knew exactly who he was talking about. "We both know they're gone Kashi. It has been years since they were here. You need to accept it and move on. You need help man." Asuma was met with a simple "Fuck off."
After another hour passed, Asuma grew tired and paid his and Kakashi's bills. The summer sun was almost set and the town drunks began entering the dingy pub.
It was around 11pm when Asuma began settling down for the night. When Sakura asked where Kakashi was, Asuma realized Kakashi was still at the pub. He immediately left the room and headed down to the location all had eaten at hours before. Unfortunately, he was followed by a concerned team 7.
When he was about to open the front door of the small business, he heard a familiar melody coming through the doors. He recognized it as "The River Flows in You" by Yiruma. "Oh my gosh! Who the hell is playing that?" cried Sakura. "I bet its one of those composers guys who waves the little stick in the air and people snap when the song is over and they're rich!" exclaimed Naruto. Asuma, Sakura and Saskue all let out a disappointed sigh. It wasn't worth trying to correct him; everyone had learned to pick their battles whenever Naruto said something completely wrong. The four then proceeded to enter the bar. The bar tender immediately knew why they had come back; he pointed to a dark corner where a very drunk Kakashi sat at a dusty old piano.
Team 7 was beyond amazed. They did not know their sensei had any musical talent. They stood silently and listened. He did not miss a note nor did he sway. He was so focused on what he was playing that it seemed as though he had no idea he was playing in a bar of 30. When he finished the song, he picked up a large glass of what looked like straight bourbon and began playing another song. This one everyone in the building recognized from some place of another; Sakura whispered its title. "In the Hall of the Mountain King, I haven't heard that in a long time."
Kakashi's movements on the instrument were becoming more and more forceful; it was clear he was drunkenly angry. Asuma told the three kids to go to their rooms and that he would make sure Kakashi was okay. All understood that Kakashi wasn't in the right mindset, except Naruto. "I wanna hear him play!" he shouted. "it's so cool! Who knew he could do that? I mean he's such a good ninja with his chidori and sharingan, but like, he can play piano. Fast too! I don't wanna go. Can we-" Saskue cut him off. "No dweeb. Asuma Sensei said leave. Let's go."
Asuma, while waiting for Kakashi to finish his 'set', everyone in the bar was silent listening to him play, went to pay for the rest of Kakashi's drinks. He owes me big time he thought to himself. He was shocked to see that he had drank an entire bottle of bourbon. It had to be something more than thinking he saw Obito or Rin, there was something else that he did not know about. He wasn't sure if Kakashi would even tell him. He had been with Kakashi through numerous struggles and deaths of loved ones. He knew how he coped; drinking was not a preferred method. Rather, drug use and self-harm was expected.
Kakashi carried a lot of guilt with him over the years. As well, his experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder only made times worse. The way he was able to cope was through injecting, smoking, or snorting any drug he could get his hands on. Asuma was all to familiar with walking into Kakashi's apartment to find him passed out, going through withdrawal, or find him covered in blood from tearing at himself. His drug usage and self-harm always came and went in spurts; he would be an regular user for a month, then go cold turkey. This would now happen maybe twice a year. Previously, it was every second month. It was the best way he was able to manage it. However, he never turned to alcohol.
When he finished his song, Asuma went over to the piano and gently tugged on Kakashi's arm, signalling it was time to go. Surprisingly, Kakashi did not object. From previous experiences, Kakashi always turned violent when he was drunk, especially when he was focused on something. The whole social circle (Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai) have all experienced Kakashi's drunken attitude.
Kakashi slowly stood out and allowed Asuma to lead him outside. The two walked through the village, Asuma supporting Kakashi's weight. He was much more intoxicated than he first thought. Taking one step at a time seemed like the most difficult task; he had to be quietly coached the entire way. It was obvious Kakashi did not want to go to the room, and for good reason. He did not want his students to see him in his current state. Asuma breathes a sign of relief when he realized this. At least he is in a reasonable state of mind – oh watch out for that hole he thought to himself.
The two carried on for 20 minuets before taking a break at a random worn out bench in the forest surrounding the village. While Kakashi silently swayed back and forth on the seat, Asuma found an old granola bar in his pocket. He didn't know how long it had been there, but he offered it to Kakashi who gladly accepted. After watching him fumble with the wrapper for a solid two minutes, Asuma took it and opened it. At that point, Kakashi fell into a complete break down, sobbing and clenching his fists. Asuma was at a loss; where did this come from? When he tried to put his hand on his back, Kakashi began cursing at him, throwing drunken punches. Whatever he was yelling at him, Asuma couldn't make it out through the slurs and sobs.
Guy I could use you right now, you've dealt with drunk Kashi more than me he thought. He kept avoiding every punch until Kakashi tripped over his own foot. He laid there for some time, regaining composure. Asuma was confused. What the hell is going on? Nothing was making sense.
Kakashi was completely fine until the mission was completed. After that point, he was very withdrawn, only answering questions with yes or no.
He waited for what felt like hours (it was 15 minutes) until he realized Kakashi had passed out. With a sigh of relief, Asuma bent over and picked his friend up. He carried him back to the inn at a much quicker pace than what they had initially gone on the walk out. When they got back Asuma noticed the time, 2 am. He didn't realize how much time had passed out in the forest. After taking Kakashi's flak jacket and shoes off, he put him to bed, in the recovery position. With that, he went to sleep.
It was noon by the time Kakashi woke up to the sound of rain hitting the rooms window. He slowly opened his eyes, only to quickly close them. He had a massive headache. What hap-oh. He remembered the happenings of last night. With a groan of embarrassment, he heard Asuma come in the room.
"What the fuck was that Kakashi?" was the greeting given when Asuma closed the door behind him. "The kids are waiting to go home, asking questions about their shit faced teacher. I have been distracting them the best I can but they're really fucking persistent. Naruto has snuck in here twice" Asuma ranted. Before waiting for Kakashi to respond, her went on. "How do I tell them to stay away from you until I know you're mentally stable? That you wont try to pummel them like you tried with me last night?" Kakashi knew exactly what he was talking about. He drank a lot, but he was able to remember everything. "What is going on?" Asuma finished, sincerity coming through his voice.
"I don't know" Kakashi began. "I felt fine up until we started heading home. The I slowly started getting more and more depressed. I was tired and angry but I don't know why."
The two sat in silence thinking. What has happened that was different. That was when Asuma made the connection. "You're on a new prescription aren't you" he asked. He was met with a single nod. "Yeah. New pain killers" The two sat in silence staring at each other. "I took a couple when we were leaving the village; I have a fractured rib" he said.
"It was a side effect" Asuma declared. "because you're a fucking idiot, you drank which made everything worse." Kakashi simply gave him a smile with his one visible eye. "Kakashi. For fucks sake. Get your hung-over ass out of bed; we're going home."
Both team 7 and 10 were eager to get on the road again. They had all been patiently waiting; there was hardly anything to do in the village. "Kakashi sensei!" Exclaimed Naruto, "You're up! Feeling better? You were so good last night playing songs and stuff!" "Lets get going Naruto" Kakashi groaned, his student's voice going right through his skull. He didn't want to talk about what happened, nor acknowledge he had a performance.
With that, both teams went back to Konoha, keeping Kakashi's drunken piano playing stupor a secret. They understood that there could be serious consequences if word got out that Kakashi had fallen into that bad of a state, be it reactions to medication or not. No one asked questions; there was a shared understanding to not talk about the previous nights events.