"OI! Brat!" I caught the pen which was apparently thrown at my head. "Are you even listening to me!?" Tsunade practically roared at me. I twirled the pen in my fingers for a second before tossing it neatly back onto her desk.
"Maa, of course I'm listening," I responded hastily as I felt her wrath growing. "You want us to report all of Naruto's mishaps to you, you'll keep Sakura busy at the hospital, and, ah…"
"We'll report Sai's actions to you as well," Tenzo covered for me. Right, I keep forgetting about Sai, I've yet to actually work with the kid.
Tsunade frowned at us, crossed her arms over that enormous chest, and grumbled at us to leave her presence before she threw me out. We quickly bowed to her and left the room.
Outside the doors of the Hokage Tower, I leaned more heavily than I'd like to admit against the wall and pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, squeezing my eyes shut.
"Are you alright, Senpai?" Tenzo asked, his voice close to my shoulder. I popped open my right eye to look at him. He was wearing one of those expressions I'm pretty sure he saves specifically for me. He'd lifted one of his eyebrows ever so slightly and his head was tilted adorably to one side, lips parted, those incredible eyes exuding warmth. I wanted to curl up in that warmth.
"Fine," I responded shortly, forcing my desires to the back of my mind. "Bad hangover."
His lips quirked up and his head straightened out.
"Really? I didn't even notice you at the bar last night."
"Nah, I went to one a few towns over," I made a vague gesture with my hand.
"Why?" His eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed.
"Wanted a new crowd for a night," I shrugged.
"Ah, sure," he nodded sagely, eyes fluttering closed and opening again with greater brilliance to once again fix on me.
"Right." Abruptly, I removed my hand from my face and straightened from my lean on the wall. "I'm going to sleep this off."
"Ah, ok," he stuttered, confusion crossing his features quickly before his expression cleared again. "We'll talk training tomorrow?"
I gave him nod/shrug movement of agreement before bounding off in the direction of my apartment. As I left, I shook my head in exasperation; that man really lets me get away with way too much explanation-less bullshit.
I didn't go back to my apartment. It's one of the places I feel the most trapped; I make it a goal to spend as little time there as possible. Instead, I headed for the forest at the top of the Hokage Mountain. The wind whistled beautifully through the trees, leaves rustled their joy, and the sun burned pleasantly through my clothing. I found myself a nice, thick branch and turned my head to face the sun while I let my eyes drift closed in rest.
I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to a not-so-subtle jostling.
"Ah HA! My Eternal Rival! I have found you at last!"
"Ah, hi, Gai," I acknowledged him lightly as he appeared at the foot of my branch.
"Shall we have a Battle of YOUTH?!" Gai bounced the branch as I woke myself up the rest of the way.
"What is it?" I sighed, bored with his antics already.
"I do believe, Rival, that it is your turn to choose our Challenge!" I sighed again, right, my turn.
"What about a sake shot challenge?" I suggested, my headache had receded and I was suddenly anxious to get another.
Gai stopped his bouncing and remained calmly on the branch, sobering up at my comment.
"No more sake challenges, not after last time," his voice dropped its charismatic vigor and instead dropped to a resigned warning. "I would say you've probably had enough sake for the week, if not longer, Kakashi."
I waved a nonchalant hand at him; I knew his change in voice meant that he was being genuine with me, letting his vulnerabilities show. We are best friends, despite our differences, and we know each other better than anyone else.
"Hmm," I decided to throw him a bone. "How about we climb up a cliff with only our right arm and back down with only our left?"
"AH, now That sounds like a WORTHY Challenge! Which mountain shall we ascend?!" Gai jumped up, enthusiasm regained and hopped to the forest floor, flexing his biceps. I couldn't stifle a good-hearted snort. It was all part of the act which had become his life. Much like this aloofness has become mine.
"The highest cliff at Training Grounds 22," I responded matter-of-factly, joining Gai on the ground.
As we jumped through the trees toward the site of our challenge, Gai spouted nonsense about Youth. Our challenges began with a feeling of extreme annoyance on my part and an astounding need to prove himself on Gai's. It has evolved to take many different forms since then, from a begrudging friendship to mere acceptance to near dependence to what it is now: a refuge. A person, a place, a relationship where neither one of us is pitied or laughed at or whispered about or, most importantly, judged. A refuge: a feeling of security.
"Ah, Kakashi?" Gai's voice jolted me out of my reverie.
"Hmm?" I turned my head to look at him.
"Why bring up a sake challenge?" His voice was softer again, more real, my friend.
"Maa," I shoved my hands in my pockets. "I went to the Orange Village for a few drinks last night."
Gai said nothing but nodded his head once in understanding. He knows that when I go to the Orange Village for drinks, I don't go back to my apartment that night. I also do not exactly spend the night alone at the bar, if you get my drift. And, thirdly, I regret every minute of my night the next morning.
Thankfully, we reached Training Grounds 22, so our conversation ended there and Gai ran a couple laps and did a few handstands to "warm up." I took out Icha Icha and waited for him to finish with that before we started.
We tied our left hands behind our backs and stood beside each other at the base of the highest cliff in Training Grounds 22. I stood with my legs slightly apart and my right hand ready to spring into action, looking beside me, Gai was mirroring my pose, albeit with his knees bent and a ferocious grin on his face. I chuckled at his expression, but prepared to start all the same.
"On three?" I asked him.
"ONE!"
"Two."
"THREE!" We both jumped and grabbed onto the nearest edge of the cliff face. My fingers curled onto a rough edge, I could already feel the cuts and callouses I would have on my fingertips by the end of the day. It was a beautiful feeling. I gathered my chakra into my fingertips as I pulled myself up with my hand and then I used the chakra burst to propel myself another hop upward. My fingers hooked onto the next hold and my process started again.
The rhythm of physical exertion and mental control is the reason I still find myself enjoying some of our ridiculous challenges. It's distracting enough to keep me from dwelling on all the negative thoughts which have taken up residence in my head ever since my father's suicide, Obito's death, killing Rin, Minato-sensei's death… The only other things that can distract me are a certain hyperactive blond ninja and a beautiful brunet with the most expressive eyes I've ever seen. Naruto and the rest of my team take up so much energy and remind me of the few 'happy, carefree' years I had in my life when training as Minato's sole apprentice. Tenzo is just, well, Tenzo. He distracts me from everything, my whole life, my entire history, every pain I've ever felt can disappear when he's near enough to touch me. Unfortunately, he's also, in a way, my greatest agony because I have no idea how to talk with him about all the things I really want to. I doubt he even knows how I feel about him. Which shouldn't be surprising because I've never told him.
"I WIN RIVAL! HAHAHA!" Gai trumpeted running circles at the tiny top of the cliff. I pushed myself the last hand up and landed smoothly on my feet near him.
"We still have to go back down with our left hand, Gai," I reminded him as I stretched both my arms and got ready to begin my descent. He froze mid-run and his face fell far too dramatically. I laughed harder than I'd laughed in months.
"Of… Of course… Yes, back down with our left hand….." He muttered to himself for a minute.
"Ready?" I asked him, wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes.
"You should start first, Rival! It is my fault I forgot the rules of our Challenge!" He sniffled and wiped away the beginning of Gai waterfall tears. "You are truly my WORTHY RIVAL! You waited for me at my folly!"
"Come on, Gai. Are you ready to finish?"
"And now, you insist on fair terms! OH RIVAL!"
"Ok, now I'm going."
"RIIVAALLL!"