"I'm home!" Carefully, Dai elbowed the door open, stepped into the tiny apartment and kicked off his sandals.

"Welcome back, Papa!" And there was Gai already, positively bursting out of the living-room that doubled as his father's bedroom, ready to attack.

Just looking at him, Dai felt his knees go wobbly again, an aftershock from that terrible moment when he'd misinterpreted the messenger nin's words. Had his arms not been full of two large bags of takeout, he would have leapt towards his son and pulled him into a long, tight embrace.

As it was, Dai only managed to shrug awkwardly, indicating that he'd like some help carrying the food into the kitchen. "Look what I've got! We're having takeout tonight!"

Gai came to a sliding halt, the tip of his cute little nose stopping millimeters from Dai's stomach. He blinked up at his father with eyes almost perfectly round with surprise; then he took one of the bags and peered inside cautiously as if he expected a frog to jump out at him. "Takeout? From that new place everyone's been talking about? Yes!"

Within an instant the boy was dash-skipping into the kitchen, apparently unable to wait even as long as another second. Dai followed with a grin on his lips and a spring in his own step.

"Yeah. I bet you're disappointed that you'll miss out on my great cooking, though. But don't worry, Gai, I'll make my special curry tomorrow," he called after his son.

"Oh… okay!"

Well, Dai'd hoped for a little more enthusiasm there, but what could you do? Kids just loved greasy takeout, no matter what. Even if their dads were willing to spend hours preparing something special for them, pouring their heart and soul into the dish, they'd still probably pick some quick bite from a takeout place over their father's labor of love.

In the kitchen, Gai was already sitting at the table and fumbling with the lid on the Styrofoam container in front of him. Dai sat down opposite his son and handed him a pair of disposable chopsticks.

Steam rose in fragrant plumes as Dai peeled away the lid of his container. Spicy, hot ramen, somehow, it was exactly what he needed right now. He breathed in deep, his mouth watering in anticipation. If the ramen was going to taste as good as it smelled, they were in for a treat.

"Itadakimasu!" Gai practically chanted the word. Hands clasped and head lowered, he displayed good manners for all of five seconds before grabbing his ramen and digging in like a starving wolf. Dai didn't mind. They were at home and knowing his boy, Gai had worked hard all day, pouring his youthful sweat and blood into training. He was a chip off the old block after all.

"This is so good!" Gai gasped. He sucked in a quick breath and went right back to slurping up his noodles.

It was good, really, really good. Dai swallowed his first mouthful of soup, enjoying the spicy after burn on his tongue. It had been a while since they'd treated themselves to something like this.

They ate quickly, both of them; in that way they were completely alike. Gai could tuck away a lot for his measly nine years, and at lightning speed, but Dai figured it was because he was growing. Every day Gai looked taller to his dad, who dutifully and proudly marked his son's progress on a dedicated spot on the wallpaper in Gai's room. Upon Gai's insistence, Dai had also marked his own height, which from then on Gai had referred to as his goal. They'd had a little celebration when Gai hit the halfway point. The memory still made Dai smile at the same time as it made him want to weep.

He's growing up so fast!

As if somehow Gai had telepathically understood his father's thoughts and timed his eating accordingly, he finished that very moment, set his container down and asked in that completely sweet and eager way of his, "Papa, are we going to the training grounds to practice some more?"

"No… not tonight." Dai got up and collected the empty containers to dispose of them.

And there was Gai's pouty face, eyebrows furrowed and a lip that was this close to quivering. "But I really think today I'll be able to do much better than yesterday! I can feel that I've gotten stronger!"

"I believe you, and I can't wait to see it!" Dai got a sponge out of the drawer and held it under the running faucet to get it wet. Then he turned back to Gai and winked. "But actually your papa is going on a very special mission tomorrow!" Giving the table a good wiping, he lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper,"The order came directly from the Hokage himself! He called me into his office and everything!"

Gai's eyes instantly went wide with surprise and awe. There couldn't be a more heartwarming sight in the whole world, Dai thought. "Papa…" His son's giddy tone made Dai feel like he could just sprout wings and fly up into the high heavens with joy. "Sandaime-sama made you a chuunin?!"

Bam. Crashing down to earth again. Why couldn't he have kept his big mouth shut?

"No… no, it's not like that. It's a C-rank…" Dai mumbled, feeling his ears grow hot. So he still hopes that I'll make chuunin one day. Somehow Dai found himself wishing he hadn't been confronted with this, but it was his own fault for bragging like an idiot, wasn't it?

To make everything that much worse, he now had to watch his son's face fall and his narrow shoulders slump dejectedly.

"Oh… " Gai looked down at the now shiny surface of the table, blinking at his own blurry reflection. How could a man – a father! – stand this sight? Inside, demonic claws of guilt tore at Dai's stomach. A boy as cute and loveable as Gai should never have to look this disappointed and ashamed just for being his ever optimistic and hopeful self!

"However!" he declared, hoping to cheer Gai up again. "Your dad is going to work with none other than Konoha's one and only White Fang, Hatake Sakumo! What do you say to that? Hm? Isn't that impressive?" Dai beamed, sure of himself on this one. Gai had always admired Sakumo-san – so much so that a less confident father than Dai might have become a little jealous actually - anyway this was a sure bet!

He hadn't thought it possible, but somehow Gai managed to sink even deeper into his chair. Any further down and his chin would hit the table!

"…" Silence pierced Dai's heavy heart. He'd tried to make Gai smile again, but now he looked more like he was close to tears.

"Gai? What's the matter?" he asked. "Hatake Sakumo! He's the father of your very own Eternal Rival, isn't he?" Gai didn't even look up. "So that's great, isn't it?" What else could he say to wipe that glum look of his son's face? "If two fathers work together, it's only natural for the sons to grow closer, too!" he explained gravely, holding up his index finger to appear more believable. This was tried and true fatherly wisdom! "Who knows, Sakumo-san and I might become best friends! Then Kakashi-kun will probably want to train with you every day!" normally the name Kakashi was like some kind of magic word for Gai. All Dai had to say was stuff like I heard Kakashi-kun eats broccoli every day! or I'm pretty sure Kakashi-kun loves going to the dentist so much, he goes every week! and Gai would instantly perk up, but this time? Nothing. Not even a peep.

Gai's lips were pressed into a thin white line. Dai knew that expression. He didn't even have to look to know that his son's hands were balled into tight little fists, pushing hard enough into his thighs to leave marks.

"Gai?"

"I… lately I… I've thought about not being rivals with Kakashi-kun anymore." Gai didn't look up when he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the table. "I've thought maybe it would be better if I just pick someone else…" He sounded so miserable. It wasn't just the way he sounded, though. It was what he was saying that was simply baffling to Dai, who had never expected to hear those words from his son. Since Gai had met Kakashi at the academy and been in the same class with him, he'd called Kakashi-kun his rival. It'd been four years, very nearly half of Gai's life.

"What? Why?"

"I just… Maybe it would be better to be rivals with someone from my own team…"

"But you already picked Kakashi-kun."

That got a reaction, a defiant one. "So?!" Gai looked up, and Dai could finally see the unshed tears shining in his son's eyes. "Who says I have to be his rival forever?"

Hearing so much bitterness in his boy's voice made Dai's heart hurt. He was a fool, it was true, but even he wasn't stupid enough to not know what this was about. But that it had reached the children already…

"You did," he said mildly, "you said he was your Eternal Rival. That means forever."

Gai was chewing on his lips, staring down at his clenched fists.

"Gai, why did you choose him? Do you remember?"

"…Because he was the best in class… the strongest… and the coolest…"

"And is he not the best anymore? He graduated when he was five, didn't he?" Dai nodded as if to reply to his own rhetorical question. "He's already a chuunin now…"

Gai swallowed thickly, fighting tears. "But… but…" He took a deep breath and it seemed to stick in his throat. A sob that tried very hard not to be one. "Everybody hates him now!"

"Gai…"

"Nobody wants to be like him anymore! Everyone says he'll just…He'll just turn out like his father…" Gai wasn't looking at him, but Dai felt that stab of pain anyway. He didn't need to see the shame in those eyes to feel it spread under his own skin like blood from burst vessels. Sometimes you didn't need to be punched to bruise; you didn't need to be cut to bleed.

"Like father like son…" Gai mumbled, "and Sakumo-san is a traitor and a failure, so Kakashi will just become a traitor and a failure, too! And I…"

I'm going to become a failure like you.

Dai closed his eyes for a second. He tried to breathe through the pain. Suddenly it wasn't so easy anymore.

"You said being able to protect something important to you is a true victory…" Gai's voice was rising in their tiny kitchen, filling it with his anger and despair. "That's what you said! But even though Sakumo-san protected his team, everyone still thinks he's a failure because he wasn't strong enough to complete the mission!"

"Gai…"

"So it was just a lie, wasn't it?" Gai pushed himself away from the table. His chair scraped backwards with a nails on chalkboard kind of screech. "If you're not strong enough to defeat your enemies, then you're a failure," he said bitterly, "and if your dad's a failure then you're a failure, too. So there's no point being Kakashi's rival anymore…"

"Is that really what you think?"

"It's what everybody says! Even the Hokage won't let Sakumo-san go on missions anymore!"

"Gai, just because everyone says something doesn't mean it's true. Even the Hokage isn't always right." Gai's eyes widened another fraction at that last sentence. He'd probably never heard anyone say anything like that before.

"There are times when there isn't simply one choice that's right and one that's wrong. Don't you remember what I taught you about your own rules? You're not a little baby anymore. You have to make your own rules and you have to protect what's most important to you." Dai took a deep breath. "Even if others say you're wrong, you have to find your own way, and if they laugh at you, then you have to take that as encouragement. It just means that you're not like everyone else." He ventured a soft smile. "Maybe Kakashi-kun isn't like everyone else either…"

Gai hung his head, tear tracks on his flushed cheeks. He had grown too big for simple answers a long time ago, Dai realized. His son was a genin, the same rank as him. Gai'd graduated from the academy at age seven, unlike Dai who'd been fifteen by the time he'd finally made it. Someday Gai would surely outrank him, Dai knew that, and yet. There was no rift between them. He would never allow there to be one!

As if to prove to himself that he still could, Dai strode around the table and reached for his son, ruffling Gai's hair and marveling at its softness. So much like his mother's… Gai didn't move away, but he didn't really relax either.

"Think about it for a bit. A few days maybe…" Dai brushed a tear off Gai's cheek. "Whether you want to stay Kakashi-kun's rival is your decision; you have to make it."

The next morning Dai went and picked up the documents. The smallness and lightness of the bundle of files that was handed to him by a bored chuunin at the mission desk surprised him. He had expected something bigger, heavier, something all around more impressive. If there was truly no classified information to be found within those pages, then there was no real reason for his task to be ranked a C. Even a D seemed high. This kind of thing, he thought, any civilian could do it. So why?

After what could only be described as a fairly short and uneventful stroll, Dai arrived at the Hatake residence. He paused outside the gate, taking in his surroundings. The house was old but well-kept. Only the garden had clearly seen better days. Weeds were growing, taking over, making the place look deserted.

Dai listened to the sounds of the birds and insects around him. For some reason, his heartbeat was speeding up.

All of a sudden, he had a very bad feeling about this mission.