Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
Silver Strands of Familiarity
Himawari was ten years old crying in the rain with a scraped knee, when she saw him. He was a coalescence of silver hair and pale skin, blurred through her wet lashes, nameless.
"Little girls like you should be more careful." Was all he said as he cleaned her wound and placed a bandage over the it. That was the first time someone had been so needlessly kind to her, that she had felt too humbled and numb to even raise her eyes to his level. Himawari could only dry her tear-streaked cheeks and attempt to make herself as small as possible.
She sniffed, refusing to cry another tear away. Even if she were to cry again he couldn't possibly notice since rain was profusely showering over them. Himawari wiped her leaking nose, shook her head, and forced a brave smile. "T-Thank you." Such a weak, timid voice came out.
He unfastened his black cloak then enveloped her shivering body with it. He yanked the hood of it up to cover Himawari's head. "You'll catch a cold." His thumb swiped across her cheek, wiping away another tear cascading down. "Don't cry now.."
"Huh?" She blinked.
"Your father and brother are here." He whispered, standing up from his curled form on the floor.
"Himawari!" Naruto shouted from afar as he scurried as fast as he could by his daughter's side.
A glimpse of a mask was the most she could see, too shy to meet his gaze – and the slope of his back as he walked away. She didn't have the courage to ask for his name.
All she had was the color of his hair - all pure and silver.
Naruto halted next to his daughter, eyes screwing a scrutinizing stare at the silver-haired man sauntering in the arid streets of the Hidden Leaf. "Himawari," he whispered, kneeling beside her. "Who was that man?"
His daughter sniffed. "I-I don't know."
Boruto arched a brow as he maintained his normal stance of nonchalance, hands firmly pushed deep into the swells of his pockets. "Looked like Kakashi-jiji to me."
"Boruto, take your sister home!" Naruto immediately ordered before he disappeared with a distinct yellow flash like the Fourth Hokage.
The eldest child stomped his foot onto the ground and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That foolish old man!"
~O~O~
Naruto teleported to the location he knew Kakashi would definitely reside to - the graveyard. The Seventh's cloak fluttered against the cool zephyr in the atmosphere as he walked through the endless lines of memorial stones until he saw the same figure standing not too far from him. The blond balled his hands tightly before he stopped next to the figure who loomed over a memorial stone, eyeing it coldly.
"What is it, Naruto?" He finally spoke after wallowing in deadly silence.
"You-!"
"In the flesh, yes." Kakashi chuckled quietly. "Why are you so glum, Naruto-kun? Maa, don't tell me you're regretting taking the seat of Hokage."
The current Hokage ruffled his short tresses, disheveling its state further more as he sighed out with exasperation. "Not regretting it, no. With Shikamaru by my side, where can I go wrong?"
His teacher smirked underneath his mask. "I trust you won't leave this village in ruins by the time your reign ends."
Naruto placed both of his hands on his hips and laughed lightly before he grinned at his teacher. "I'm your successor, Kaka-sensei, have more faith in me dattebayo!"
Kakashi ran his fingers through his wet locks and his mask shifted in the most minuscule detail - a genuine smile settled on his features. He then turned to face Naruto completely before his eyes creased with content. "Well then, Hokage-sama," He softly began when he placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's about time you go back to reality now, isn't it?"
At first the Seventh was dumbfounded, but soon enough his consciousness snapped back.
"Old man!" Boruto vociferated as he raced towards his father. "Stop staring into space! Mother has already made dinner for us; don't dare make her wait!"
Naruto whipped his head to his son before his eyes diverted down to the dirtied, weathered stone with a rueful smile.
"Rubbish old man!" Boruto grumbled under his breath, pouting away with a stern glare fixated on his father.
Soon enough, Naruto approached his son and tugged him along out of the graveyard. He stopped mid-way and looked over his shoulder, features easing from its apologetic expression. The silhouette of the man remained shadowing the gravestone before his presence began to dissipate into nothingness. With the strike of lightning, the mirage of the man vanished without an ounce of evidence to be found.
"What were you doing, spacing out like that?" the younger blond Uzumaki asked. "And who were you talking to?"
There became an apparent void in their conversation as the Hokage continued to trudge on through the wet streets without uttering another word. After submerging himself into a myriad of sentimentality of the past with Team 7, he smiled earnestly. Boruto only cocked his head to the side, warped with complete utter ignorance of his father's meek expression.
"Father...?"
Naruto looked down at his son. "Let's go home, Boruto. We don't want to keep your mother waiting now."
~O~O~
Sarada was engaged in a ruthless combat against exiled ninjas who possessed an array of techniques she couldn't even begin to fathom with her sharingan. The sheer abundance of her enemies cornering her didn't help ease the hot sensation of fear gripping the back of her head, digging in, protruding into her skull quietly, taking her will hostage.
She stood like a statue, both mind and body frozen. The enemies lunged, weapons already leashed out. And she waited for what seemed to be inevitable to happen - certain death.
However, there was a roar that was a reminiscent of a thousand birds nearby, screeching with intensity. In a blink of an eye, strong purple light came into her peripheral and everything else shattered.
"Shiden!"
When she opened her eyes, all of the enemies were already on the floor unconscious. A small breeze of wind blew strands of her jet black hair away from her eyes, and she witnessed pure silver hair swaying in rhythm with the wind. He turned on his heels to briefly lock eyes with her before his presence deteriorated after a strong gust of wind howled past them.
It wasn't long until both Sasuke and Sakura found themselves in the scene, all prepared for battle. Sasuke drew his sword out and examined the desolated area with a stern face. "Sarada," his onyx eyes spiraled into a pool of blood as three tomoes came alive. "Did you do this?"
"No, I... someone else did."
Sakura patted her daughter's hair and smiled lovingly. "I'm glad you're safe."
The Uchiha glared at the scene with trepidation. There was still a small whiff of chakra resonating by. One that held familiarity of a man. He retracted his sword and huffed quietly. "Sakura,"
"What is it?"
"Can you feel him?" He asked quietly as he looked up at the clear blue sky.
"Him?" Sakura parroted with befuddlement, until she felt a pang of the chakra. "This is..!"
"Ah... no doubt about it." Sasuke plainly said, leaving out what needs to be unsaid.
This is Kakashi's chakra...
~O~O~
"So what is the important issue you want to talk about?" Naruto deadpanned, crossing his arms behind his head.
Sasuke rested his only arm on his blade and stared down at a stone with a stoic face. "Have you felt Kakashi's presence recently?"
Sakura remained silent in the background, because she was too occupied with endless questions ringing in her head asking if this was indeed possible. She was certain that chakra she detected belonged to their sensei. There wasn't an ounce of doubt about it.
Naruto grumbled the answer under his breath. Sasuke took a glimpse of his comrade before he settled with: "That man is so persistent. It's almost scary."
Both Sakura and Naruto smiled at his comment. Their meek expressions were later shadowed with a more doleful tone.
Naruto lit the candle next to the stone and paid his respects, Sakura and Sasuke followed later on. The three adults - former members of Team 7 - placed their hands on the stone, feeling the roughness of it under the palm of their hand.
Naruto's eyes diverted down to the dirtied, weathered memorial stone which has the engraved initials Hatake Kakashi etched into its crevice. His fingers traced the engraved kanji in the stone. It had been three years since he died. Yet, it seems, his presence still lingers on.
"Rest in peace, Kaka-sensei."
A/N: Another one-shot which I forgot about, and has since collected dust in my computer. Well, instead of deleting it, I thought why the hell not?
Till next time,
Exciled3