Chapter 1 – Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep
March 17, 51 years after the founding of Konohagakure, Training Ground 3
"C'mon, kid," Genma muttered as he passed a bento over to Kakashi. He'd seen him sitting in front of the memorial stone that morning, but it was now evening, and he looked like he hadn't moved an inch. They'd just gotten back from a particularly grueling mission a couple days ago and had been forced to live on chakra pills and ration bars for two weeks straight. The mission was almost a month longer than expected due to some faulty info, and despite being habitually overprepared, Genma didn't carry enough food to feed a team for an entire month. The harsh, unforgiving climate of Suna had not particularly helped.
Genma had a soft spot for the kid, had seen the scrawny silver-haired shinobi often, especially for the short time Minato became Hokage. As a tokujo whose specialty was assassination, he often took missions with ANBU when he wasn't on guard rotation.
He was worried about Kakashi because the young man had all but disappeared into back-to-back A-ranks for 3 months straight. The most recent mission would mark 4 and a half months of missions for the scrawny kid. Hiruzen hadn't noticed, probably couldn't afford to give one of their best front-liners a break, but Kakashi was fourteen.
He missed Minato.
Kakashi took the bento, eyes glassy and unfocused. "Thanks."
Geez, do I have to do everything around here? "Eat your dinner." That prompted Kakashi out of whatever spiral he was currently in to break the chopsticks and start eating.
They had all lost some weight, it was only natural and expected even for the mission they were on, but most shinobi knew enough basic human health to realize that they needed to recuperate and would take missions with their physical state in mind. Kakashi, however, seemed hell-bent on self-destruction or was using the most common form of shinobi coping, which was "throw yourself into work until you're too exhausted to feel." Either way, without anyone to watch over him, he seemed to be going downhill.
Not that he noticed. Or probably cared.
:: :: ::
Kakashi had been talking with Obito until they ran out of things to say. This happened especially fast when the other person never said anything back.
He hadn't had a chance to go to the memorial before the last mission, which had grated at him for the entire 6 weeks. The day after the squad got back, Kakashi had risen to go to the memorial at 6 in the morning.
His fingers ghosted over the most recently carved name for over an hour until his skin ripped over the kanji on Namikaze Minato.
"Sorry, sensei."
After sufficiently ruminating sensei, it was time to visit Rin. Not that it was much of a visit. The Yamanaka store wasn't open yet, so he apologized top her and promised to bring two bunches next time as he got up to talk to Obito.
After some time, Genma came up and sat by him and handed him a bento box.
"I figured I'd find you here."
Kakashi didn't know what to say so he just nodded and smiled.
"Don't give me that bullshit smile. I know you don't mean it."
He also didn't know what to say to that.
"C'mon, kid."
"Thanks." Kakashi stared at the box but didn't open it.
"Eat your dinner."
They sat in silence for a bit, eating dinner and watching the sun set.
Genma was always taking care of him, always filling in those responsibilities he never bothered to care about. Kakashi was grateful, Genma had saved his ass more than once. It was also nice to have a comrade who had also been close to Minato, someone who understood without trying to pry into his head or ask him about his feelings.
It had been almost six months, but Sensei and Kushina's deaths still burned like they had the day it happened.
He tried to pay him back for the dinner, but Genma waved it away. "Use that cash to buy yourself some groceries that aren't ration bars, kid. You look like shit. Make sure you're taking care of yourself, yeah?"
They both knew he wasn't and probably wouldn't, but Genma was a persistent bastard and Kakashi knew he wouldn't be able to argue.