Disclaimer: Never owned it, never will. Alas.

Moi Musings: Yes, the second chapter of the Reason Revamped. Rejoice, everybody! Let's do the Can-Can!

Or Not.

(Just to warn you, there are three OCs in this story. Enjoy.)


It took a little bit longer to wake up that morning, but he did in the end.

A minute before the alarm clock rang instead of ten.

He stayed under the sheets for awhile, even as the alarm clock rang, a muffled buzz in his ear.

He sat up gingerly, testing his movements. He yawned. Scratched. Stretched a little. Stared out into space.

Pfft. It's been a long time since I had that dream.

Hatake Kakashi. Age 26; rank Jounin, in charge of Genin Team no. 7, Copy-Nin of Konoha.

Maybe it's an omen. Bah. To heck with omens. If I believed them, I would have died twenty-four times in a row and lost seventy-five limbs.

Hatake Kakashi, Human, waking up.

Come to think of it, I never managed to see her off, didn't I?

Rising slowly to his feet, he dragged himself to the toilet. The mint taste of toothpaste and the rush of tap water were rousing, ever-so-slightly. Those little routines. Something that wasn't missed, even on the longest, most murderous missions.

Something that was almost forgotten, while other things weren't.

Other, preferably forgettable things.

Very coincidental, that mission. Too coincidental. I wonder if Hokage-sama had planned it.

It was A-Class, so naturally it was difficult. Difficult and long. Very, very long.

He had rushed back after its completion. Run all the way, teammates lagging behind. But then, but by then…

It was too late.

The bread tasted like cardboard, tough and papery. He ate it anyway. Toting the plate back to the kitchen, he stole a glance at the calendar.

Another day, another week. Another month, another year.

He strapped his sandals on, and checked his pouches. Kunai, shuriken, scrolls and Icha Icha Paradise. As he stepped out into the cold reality of the day, he saw the big red numbers of the clock flash.

It was 6.57 a.m.

Another minute.

Since her death.

He shuffled off to the gravestone of the fallen, and wondering whether it would have felt better to have seen her name properly engraved.

But he doubted it.


He was late, and he knew it very well indeed. His right foot had fallen asleep; his neck was aching from being kept bent and the sun was getting hotter by the minute.

He gave the gravestone a slight bow.

To Obito, to her sister and…

To her.

The never-engraved name of a never-forgotten person.


Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

"YOU'RE LATE! (again, I should add, Kakashi-sensei!)"

He smiled. The fabric of his mask twitched as he did.

"Good morning. I see you're all alive and kicking. Very alert. Very good."

He knew very well that he was rubbing salt painfully onto the wound, but well. This was, after all, a routine and almost-tradition.

Naruto looked ready to kill, Sakura looked as though she needed restraining, and Sasuke looked…Sasuke-ish.

Tradition indeed.

"Well?" The blonde and pink, arms-crossed, cocked their eyebrows, a perfect eighty-degree arch which they had both perfected over time. The raven, leaning against the hard railings of the bridge, on the other hand, had mastered a fifty-five-degree arch, subtle but questioning all the same.

"Hmm. Let's see. This morning I met a pretty, oh, excuse me, I meant lovely, young lady." He did a quick calculation. How long had it been?

"She had a lot of luggage, you see." 7 o'clock to 2.

"Apparently, she was getting a transfer to…" That makes eight hours.

"The country of Lightning." One for her sister, three for Obito…

"And I had to help her with her luggage." And four for her.

"Oh yes, and I got lost on the path of life on the way back."

Yes, according to routine-turned-tradition, the veins were throbbing, dangerously, in Naruto and Sakura's foreheads. And Sasuke was, as usual, looking faintly exasperated.

"KAKASHI- SENSEI!"

"Hmm?"

Naruto sighed, annoyed.

"So what is it, Kakashi-sensei? What's the real reason? Not cats in trees, not old ladies crossing the street, and OBVIOUSLY not transfers. What is the reason? Why you're always so late?"

Kakashi smiled, bitterly, and did not answer.


Sometimes, certain questions cannot be answered.

While certain questioned have to be asked.

Could you review, please?