This is a fanfic I also made a long time ago. It was long, so I cut it up into little pieces. And, no, it's not Kakasaku, though it might look that way at first.
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Kakashi strolled down the streets of the land of waves. Nothing interested him as he crossed the town, pretty lonely and deserted. The Naruto Bridge had fallen recently, and he and the old squad had come to repair it again, just like the old days.
"They named it after me?" Naruto had hooted, sixteen-years-old. "Awesome! But…it dropped!"
"Yeah, it failed, just like you will." Sasuke had snorted. He sneered. "They should name it Uchiha instead!"
Sasuke was Sasuke, and Naruto was Naruto, even though they were much older than they had been in the beginning. Kakashi chuckled. Nothings different…except Sakura.
What was different about her? She had grown. A lot. Not much changed when men grow up, but women have tremendous changes.
Not that it worried him. She was a responsible girl.
The sky was cloudy, the off day from a week of guarding Tazuna. Kakashi was twenty-eight now, yet still as agile and powerful as ever, though he threw his back out recently. But still.
He noticed the orange jacket peeking from inside the alley up ahead. Another attempt to sneak up on him. He chuckled. Everyone was dying to catch him, surprise him, to think themselves powerful.
There was a rustling noise. Kakashi sensed chakra. It was Sasuke, crouching in a bush along the road. He turned and waved. "Hi, Sasuke."
Sasuke came out. "I'm not Sasuke," He said, grinning, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
That startled Kakashi. Am I really getting older?He wondered. He turned back to where Naruto had been, to see him racing up. He was more experienced now. It could be another clone.
"I got you!" He laughed, chuckling the trademarked way. "Be—"
"Don't you dare say it," Kakashi warned, stepping past him. He would lose it if Naruto said "Believe it!" One more time.
He slowly dropped behind, and suddenly Kakashi wondered where he was. He looked left and right. The village had dropped away, and there was only the foggy forest ahead.
He walked along the path, weary of more attacks. Through the woods, he realized this was the same place that Zabuza had attacked him and his squad years ago. He smiled. The river was coming, where he had battled him. He remembered the ice-ball trap, and how Naruto had deceived Zabuza. It still amazed him.
He also remembered Haku. The poor boy. He had such a bright future, being of that Kekkai Genkai.
He sat a the waters' edge, placidly running along as if he and the fog weren't around. He looked up. He couldn't see a thing. The fog was thickening.
How old am I getting, Kakashi wondered, that I'm forgetting to keep an eye out for these kinds of things?
No, he stopped himself, it isn't that. He was distracted. By what? His life. So many things had happened to him to make him reminisce, without thinking of other things first. He had too much to remember.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Cried a voice he knew was Sakura's. "It's time to go! You'll get lost!"
How did she know he was there? he wondered anxiously. Was I that obvious, that she knew I was there?
"Sakura, I'm here," he called, waving at the figure coming out of the fog.
"There you are, Sensei," Sakura said, sitting beside him. "You must be getting old."
He was shocked. "What makes you say that?"
"You didn't realize I'm Sasuke!" He laughed, and suddenly it wasn't Sakura but Sasuke.
"Yeah, I must be getting old, because you have the courage to trick me." He sighed.
"Very old," Sasuke said, dropping into smoke and turning into Naruto. "You need to get yourself together, Kakashi."
"I know, it's just…" He looked off into the distance, not looking at Naruto, or hoping it was Naruto. "So many things have happened to me, that…I can't stop thinking about the past."
Naruto nodded. "But, whenever you think of the past, realize what your doing. It's called watching what you think. Snap out of it the moment you realize it."
He nodded. "Thanks, Naruto." He patted his head. "I never thought I'd see the day you lectured me."
He laughed loudly, like he always did. "No problem, Sensei!"
So they stood and headed for Tazuna's house. They knocked, and Inari, the boy of twelve, answered. "Hey, Mr. Hatake!"
Kakashi laughed. "Yes, hello, Inari." He realized he looked overjoyed. "Why so happy?"
"He caught a fish with only his hands," His mother said plainly, sitting at the low table with Sakura and Sasuke.
"Yeah, and I'm going to keep it!" Inari giggled. "It's in my room in a bucket."
Kakashi nodded. He loved kids and how they were so happy over little things.
He sat down with Naruto and ate a meal of Chinese food. He bowed his head when he was done. "Thank you, Tazuna." The squad members did the same.
He smiled. He seemed to get older by the day, his wrinkles crinkling. "It's alright. Anything for my favorite Konoha ninja."
Naruto grinned. "Yup!"
Kakashi smiled. "Well, excuse me," He said, standing. "I'll be back later." He exited the room and out into the cold night. The wind enveloped his body, and he let it, feeling the coolness and enjoying it.
He stretched, cracking his back. "I am so old," He sighed, sitting on the dock and rocking his feet back and forth. The gentle waves hit the tips of his sandals. He enjoyed that, too. I am old! he thought wearily. I enjoy this sort of old people thing!
He heard someone coming, and turned to see Sakura coming toward him. He sighed. "You're not Naruto, are you?"
"No," Sakura laughed silently, sitting beside him. Her face caught the wind and she sighed. "I don't like saying 'believe it'. Want to hear my impression of Naruto?"
Kakashi nodded, smiling slightly.
"Believe it!" She cried out, sounding more like be-live that believe.
Kakashi couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose Naruto has a special way of doing it so it sounds more annoying, loud, and…annoying."
"Oh, please, Sensei." Sakura said. "Don't flatter him. I'm just as annoying."
Kakashi sighed, not as an answer to Sakura, but he had his mind on other things. Since when does Sakura admit she's annoying? A long time ago, she would have argued—
What was he thinking? He shook his head. Out of the past, Kakashi, and into the present. Wait, but now it's the future. Every second is towards the future! Then since when is present even a thing if present is not there, because it's the same as future since every second more is more future?
"Kakashi?" Sakura asked, concerned. "Are you ok? You look…deep in thought."
Kakashi nodded. "My head's stuck in the past, Sakura. Each time I see one of you, it reminds me of something you did do back when you were all on my squad." The gang wasn't a Genin squad anymore, since they were all Chunin and Kakashi still a Jonin. But they had all come into this mission because the people were dear to them and they wanted one more mission together. "And…this might be the last time we're all together again. You were my only squad, you know." He sighed. "Naruto wants to be Hokage, Sasuke wants revenge, and you're going to be a doctor. What am I? A Jonin who's getting too old for this. What'll happen when you go your separate ways, and we almost certainly won't meet again?"
"Kakashi," Sakura said seriously, "We all want to be Jonin, at least. I'm going to be a doctor when I'm a Jonin. Naruto has to be a Jonin before he's the Hokage, and Sasuke wants Jonin training too. We'll all be at your level, which means that we almost certainly will see you again. We won't forget you! You're a very close friend of ours now."
Kakashi was silent. He believed what she was saying, but it scared him slightly. Since when was he scared? Since he cared for something like a family. He didn't want to see his squadron hurt. They all had a tough road ahead. He had gone through it, he knew the trouble. They didn't. They didn't know what was ahead of them.
Sakura stood and walked back to the house. Before entering, she called, "Better get in, Sensei, before you get a cold!"
Colds aren't great for old people, Kakashi thought.
Kakashi woke to sunlight beaming through his window. His throat was sore from dry heat and his head aching.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He was a light sleeper, so he knew he must be the only one awake in the house, judging from the sounds of snores in the nearby rooms.
Across his room, though, lay Naruto and Sasuke. They were boys, so they could sleep here, but Sakura had to sleep with Tazuna's daughter.
Naruto had that goofy dog hat on, and Sasuke seemed deep in a troubled sleep. He always seemed troubled in his sleep, like he was dreaming again of how his family was murdered. That must have been terrible for him.
Kakashi stood and stretched, scratching his bare chest. He quickly put on his clothes silently, hoping to get out into town before anyone could stop him.
He got out of the house while putting on his sandals. He felt like an eager child, not being sensible and sitting patiently to tie his shoes.
He walked through the short expanse of woods and into the town, which was for the most part also asleep. The shops were closed and the doors locked, so Kakashi walked without an interruption, past town and into the next woods.
He walked purposefully until he found what he was looking for. It was Zabuza's and Haku's graves.
He sat before them, looking at Zabuza's rusted sword. Thankfully, no one had come upon the sword and stolen it.
His eyes lingered on Haku's grave until he noticed the little bottle with a paper inside it, sitting against the wooden cross.
Curious, Kakashi leaned forward and plucked up the note. He thought suddenly that this was an invasion of privacy, but his curiosity was too much to contain.
He popped the cork on the top, suddenly wishing for a bottle of wine, which he hadn't had recently, and took out the small note. Unfolding it, he gasped at what he read.
I will avenge you, Haku
