Hatake Kakashi is eighteen years old when he starts reconsidering his life choices for the umpteenth time. He reconsiders it as he interacts with a fellow ANBU acquaintance of his, while the two are hiding in plain sight on the rooftop to an apartment. His acquaintance stands at a height much shorter than his is, with ultramarine hair that cascades down to her hips. He considers it a hazard, she tells him to mind his own business.
They are former classmates reunited under the most unusual of circumstances. While she is absolutely delighted, Kakashi is…less than amused. Especially with how much Maneki Neko likes to tease.
"Wan-wan!" she lightheartedly barks at him before tapping on his mask. Although her face is obscured behind a white mask resembling that of a calico cat, Kakashi can tell she's smiling.
Kakashi rolls his eyes and wonders what exactly it was about Maneki Neko that had made her a vital prospect to ANBU in the eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. He deliberately ignores the fact that Maneki Neko had caught him completely by surprise just now, heightened senses be damned. He blames the snow…
"How was your day, Inushi?" Rather than calling him Hound, Maneki Neko gives him a nickname she deems much more fitting. "Did you enjoy your short time out of the cold while I was stuck watching the Hyuuga Heiress develop a crush on Namikaze's kid?"
"Well…that's new," Kakashi thinks. He certainly doesn't expect it. "Is that what happened while I was out?"
"More or less—it's what stands out to me the most." Maneki Neko has a slight aversion to anything remotely romantic. It isn't because she hates romance—she just doesn't get it. She never has and she's content with the idea that she never will. "Have any issues enrolling the Tomato into the Academy?"
"Fortunately, no…" Kakashi is quite thankful for that. "Just time consuming."
"There sure are a lot of applicants this year!" Maneki Neko chirps as she balls up her hands into fists. She's practically shaking with giddiness. "I give them half a year before the numbers go down a considerable lot."
"My, that's generous," Kakashi deadpans.
"You think so?" And Kakashi's sarcasm completely flies over Maneki Neko's head. "It was a lot different with us, back when we were in Shimura Nene's class. When everyone was divided up by skill…"
"During times of peace, there shouldn't be much reason to have students graduating so early." Kakashi notes that it'll probably take longer for Academy students to become Genin.
"Riiiight…" Maneki Neko nods her head. "I heard that they've combined all the kunoichi classes for this occasion."
"Is that so?" Kakashi isn't one to take interest in kunoichi-related studies. For him, it isn't required…but for Uzumaki Naruto… "It sure is going to suck for her."
"Pffft, yeah, it sure is!" Maneki Neko laughs a little too loud for comfort. She's not loud enough to catch anyone's attention, but just loud enough to grate on Kakashi's sensitive ears. "Say…when are you gonna break the news to her?"
Before Kakashi can even say anything, a loud scream cuts him off. He flinches, as the sound penetrates the confines of the apartment room it's coming from. It's that loud and the screams just keep coming and coming. One angry shriek right after another—it must have been a particularly bad day for Naruto.
"Oooh, looks like the Tomato's having another fit." Maneki Neko's instant reaction to the loud noise is to crouch down and cover her ears. "Mind taking over for me? I…need a moment…"
"Sure." It isn't the first time this has happened, after all. Today is just another day, where he, as Hound, and Maneki Neko continue with their assigned task of watching over Uzumaki Naruto. "Take as long as you need."
It disturbs Kakashi with how easily he can withstand the screams without feeling the need to check up on Naruto. He knows she's completely fine—she's just having another meltdown. So long as no one is physically harming her, he has no need to interfere (or so he's been told). He wonders if he should, once the screams turn into frustrated sobs.
He decides against it when he goes to check up on Naruto once her sobs had gotten quieter. He's not at all surprised to find her in bed when he looks through the window (once again, she forgot to pull down her blinds). As mentioned before, this isn't the first time it has happened.
"And it probably won't be the last, either…" Kakashi feels a slight pang in his chest. He ignores it as he returns to Maneki Neko's side and helps her stand up. He tries to change the subject by bringing up a close friend of Maneki Neko's. He is successful with his attempt, but it doesn't get rid of the emptiness he now feels.
Minato-sensei…Kushina-san…
He was supposed to have helped them raise Naruto… Now he's stuck watching over her from the shadows.
Rin…
She would have loved Naruto…
Obito…
It frustrates Kakashi so much that he never noticed how he truly felt about the deceased Uchiha until it was far too late to say anything. Rin knew…she always knew… She was always so perceptive, after all. So observant…that Kakashi was actually envious.
He still is…and he doubts he'll ever stop being envious. No matter how much time passes, these feelings he still has…will probably linger. The nightmares sure have…
Otou-san…
As have his regrets…
I want them back…
He wants them all back…so that he can apologize. So that he can confess. So that he can finally move on from this never-ending nightmare that is his life. So that the loneliness that comes from being the only one left behind (lonelylonelysolonely) can disappear.
If only I were more fortunate…
Too bad he's not. He's Hatake Kakashi and his life is a goddamn mess.
…
…
Time passes and night soon falls, as it usually does during the winter, where the days are much shorter than the night. It's going to be a long night, Kakashi thinks as he leans back into Bull. It has gotten cold enough to where Kakashi has felt the need to summon some of his ninken for warmth. As he keeps his guard up, Maneki Neko lowers hers as she takes to messing with Pakkun's paw pads.
For ANBU, they aren't exactly acting like professionals. Such behavior is expected from Maneki Neko, but not Kakashi. He blames Maneki Neko for how laidback he has become, for the way she compensates through her meticulous use of genjutsu and shadow clones. He has grown far too comfortable with a mission he'd usually treat so seriously. It's not that he isn't serious—he still is.
It's more that Kakashi is allowing himself to interact, when he'd usually be so withdrawn. He guesses he also has Maneki Neko to blame for that—for being so persistent in getting him to interact with her. It took some time, but eventually, she succeeded.
"How lucky…" Kakashi wonders if this is how it was Maneki Neko had earned her name after being known as Bobtail and Calico for quite some time. "Seems appropriate…"
It would explain the high rate of succession whenever Maneki Neko is around…
"Hey…I know this isn't exactly appropriate and I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, buuut…Iwai misses him, too…" Maneki Neko is not known for her ability to empathize—she struggles with it. Even so, she still tries and Kakashi, for all that has happened to him, appreciates it. "He's still jealous of you, for how close you were to that Uchiha."
"Is that so…?" Kakashi manages to huff a laugh as he recalls the Jounin of Kirigakure descent. "Ahaha…so he never moved on?"
"I dunno…have you ever moved on from Namikaze?" Maneki Neko laughs when Kakashi suddenly sputters. "I guess there's your answer!"
Kakashi is extremely glad for his mask, for how it hides his face while it burns red from embarrassment. He finds it rather unfair that Takemi Tae can easily recognize romantic love, for someone who doesn't experience romantic attraction. For as much praise as he has gotten, for being a prodigy, Kakashi still feels there is a lot more that he has to learn.
It is moments like these that only manage to prove his point.
…
…
As the sky begins to brighten with the arrival of dawn, Tae takes a moment to yawn and stretch her arms. It is during this that Kakashi suddenly speaks to her, mere minutes after dismissing his ninken.
"His name is Obito," Kakashi tells her. "He's not just some Uchiha…"
Tae stares for a moment before she laughs. "I know…I just wanted to see if you still remembered."
"And I do." Which is why he said it.
…
…
It's nine in the morning when Naruto finally wakes up. She stares at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes before realizing that she forgot to close the blinds again. She lets out an aggravated sigh, but does nothing other than that. Her head hurts…and she feels like absolute shit.
I fucked up…
That's all Naruto can really think as yesterday's events flood her head. She remembers everything all too clearly, when she wishes she didn't. She remembers Hyuuga Hinata, who she was quite happy to meet initially…until it had occurred to her that the sense of déjà vu she had felt when she defended Hinata from those assholes was more than just that.
It was real.
So, so real…
She should have recognized it, too—but she didn't. Because of all the times to forget about Naruto The Last, it had to be when she was literally living out one of the opening scenes to that film. It wasn't exactly a pleasant revelation she had when she realized that her actions had caused the exact deviations she was trying to avoid. It only got worse from there, when her train of thought continued to spiral into the massive wreck that had caused her meltdown.
Shit's rather awkward when Naruto actually stops to think about Boruto and Himawari—her canon counterpart's children. Like, fuck—what's gonna happen to them?! Naruto sure as hell doesn't know and she feels it's too damn early for her to have another meltdown. So she decides to stop thinking about it…
Growl.
And focus on her current issue: Hunger.
"Maybe today…yeah…" Naruto decides that today will be the day she tries to make something to eat, other than instant ramen. It gives her something to do and it certainly seems distracting enough to keep her from thinking about the existence of her canon counterpart's children. "Fried rice sounds good…"
She's been craving it for quite some time now. Hopefully, she remembers how to cook it.
…
…
More than an hour has passed since Takemi Tae had left her position, which is why Kakashi is on his own for the next seven days. He sighs and decides to appreciate the silence while it lasts. And he does…until a burnt smell in the air makes his nose wrinkle in disgust.
"What…the hell?" Kakashi doesn't like how close by the scent is. "Oh god, it's her—isn't it?"
Well, there's only one way for him to find out…
…
It takes Kakashi a moment to notice what's wrong as he looks through the opened window and sees Naruto doing a horrible job at cooking fried rice. "That's really shitty fried ri—SHE'S TOSSING IT!"
It takes him a moment, because that's when the fried rice suddenly bursts into flames and Naruto is right there. Kakashi doesn't even hesitate when he jumps through the window and enters the kitchen. He pulls Naruto as far away as possible from the portable stove before grabbing the pan of burning fried rice. He dumps the pan it into the sink and turns the faucet on.
Kakashi watches as the water puts out the flames. Four minutes pass before he turns the faucet off. He sighs inwardly in relief and turns to Naruto, who looks absolutely terrified.
"Wh-Who the hell are you, dattebayo?!" Naruto points a finger at him as she shrieks.
A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Kakashi's face. "Umm…"
Well…this is awkward.
"I'll…just be going." Kakashi feels that it would be best if he left immediately. But before that, he decides to do Naruto a favor and throw away the mess in the kitchen sink. It's the least he can do for scaring the crap out of her with his sudden appearance.
But when Kakashi opens the trash bin, he finds that it's nearly full of empty containers of instant ramen. He stares at the trash bin for nearly a minute before asking out loud, "Did you eat all of that?"
Naruto sputters for a moment. "Y-Yeah—wh-what's wrong with that-ttebayo?!"
"Where do I even begin?" Kakashi looks at the cabinet above the sink and opens it. He is not at all surprised when he is greeted by the sight of numerous packages containing instant ramen. "I can tell you this…it's not healthy."
Kakashi knows this all too well, considering the harsh lecture Rin had once given Obito, which she later gave to him, because he had grown quite negligent of his wellbeing after Hatake Sakumo committed suicide. She was always so persistent in keeping an eye on the two of them, long before they were even a team. At the time, Kakashi found her behavior annoying…
But now…he understands why she did it. He understands all too clearly as he stares at Uzumaki Naruto. Because in her, he sees what Rin had once seen in both him and Obito—a lonely child struggling to live.
"I can't leave her alone anymore…" Kakashi comes to that realization as he walks over to Naruto. He kneels down to her level and ruffles her spiky, red hair. "I'm sorry."
I'm sorry for ignoring you for so long…
"I should have introduced myself." Kakashi tries his best to keep his emotions in check as he ignores the way his eyes have begun to heat up with unshed tears. "You can call me Hound or ANBU-san…"
I'm sorry…
"And starting today, I'm taking over your kitchen." Kakashi's tone is disturbingly cheery, for someone who feels empty. "Now go get dressed."
"Wh-Wh-Wha…" Naruto has no idea what to even think.
…
…
Naruto has an extremely difficult time keeping herself from screaming as she watches Hound's back while he's cooking. She's sitting at the table, under direct orders from Hound. She's trying her hardest to ignore how familiar she finds his spiky, silver hair. She's trying, but failing…
"That's fucking Kakashi, isn't it?" Naruto so desperately wants to give herself the benefit of the doubt—that it's not him. But her current track record of encounters would like to say otherwise. It's at least eight years too early for her to interact with Hatake Kakashi—but there he is, cooking her breakfast. "This is so unreal…"
She wants to cry.
Why me?
She really wants to cry…
This isn't fair…
It takes every fiber of her being to stay strong when Hound sets the plate of food he had just finished cooking. He's made her omurice for breakfast. It looks good and even smells good—but she hesitates. She's just so wary of what's in front of her.
This isn't supposed to be happening…
But it is.
"Eat up before it gets cold," Hound tells Naruto before ruffling her hair.
Naruto can't even find the energy to protest. She just stares at the food on her plate for a few more seconds and then reaches for the spoon. She scoops up a spoonful of the omurice and shoves it into her mouth. She chews slowly and then stops to swallow.
"How is it?" Hound asks.
Naruto's response is to continue eating, except at a faster pace. It's delicious, she wants to say…but she can't, because her mouth is full. And when it isn't, she finds that she can't stop eating as she shoves another spoonful of omurice into her mouth. It's been so long since she's eaten someone else's cooking.
And when she's finally done, she feels sad. She wants more, but she has no idea how to ask Hound. She's terrified at the idea that this is all an elaborate prank—that he'll yell at her when she least expects it.
Growl.
But she's still hungry, so she pushes her plate towards him and says, in a very quiet voice, "M-More…"
Hound chuckles, but says nothing as he takes Naruto's empty plate. He doesn't regret cooking so much rice, although he feels that he ought to purchase a rice cooker for Naruto. Alongside that, he feels he needs to buy her more groceries to fill out the empty space in her refrigerator. There's a lot he has to do, but for now… "This is a good start."
…
…
…
IMPORTANT: DO BE SURE TO READ THIS A/N
A/N Hello everyone, guess who's out for summer? ME! Although, don't expect too much, since I'm currently obsessed with Kingdom Hearts Unchained x (chi) now that I've found a way to play it (if my tumblr has shown anything, with my recent posts). I am one with Unicornis, if you must know… Of course, I managed to take a break from the game to write this chapter!
I don't think anyone was expecting Kakashi to pop up so quickly, but like…yeah, here he is and shit's deviating, whether Naruto wants it or not. Also, many thanks to kurobook for that line about the shitty fried rice. And alongside that, many thanks to her for this story's BITCHIN' COVER, like HOLY SHIT, kuro—you've outdone yourself! Seriously, send her some love and check out her One Piece SI OC fic, Barrel of Fun!
It's good for the soul.
Moving on from there, anyone who's read Butterfly Child will know that Kakashi is the ANBU guard assigned to watch Naruto…well, one of two guards, as this story shows. Anyone who has read Butterfly Child and Metamorphosis will recognize aromantic OC, Takemi Tae. To give a brief definition of what that means about her, she doesn't experience romantic attraction…so romantic love isn't her thing, but that doesn't mean she can't love (not all love is romantic).
As for the name Maneki Neko, it means Beckoning Cat, which is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman) which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine depicts a cat, which is traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail—hence the other names, Bobtail and Calico. So this is probably the first time where I've actually expanded on her character as an adult. Apart from being aromantic, she's also on the autism spectrum (if you guys didn't pick up on that either).
Hope you don't take her existence in this story too personally, as a reviewer in Metamorphosis did. Like I said before, I have a lot of OCs…it's a thing, and alongside that, this chapter continues to prove what I mean when I say the world building and characters in my Naruto SI OCs stories are connected.
In case you guys didn't pick up on the implications, Kakashi had a crush on Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Obito. This is something that will forever be a constant in any Naruto fic I write (alongside the fact that Kakashi is asexual, which means he doesn't experience sexual attraction). There's more to it than just that, when it comes to Minato, but like…I'll get to that eventually. Just know this: Kakashi wasn't the only one who had a crush on Minato (the same can be said about Obito, because you have another of my OCs, Iwai, crushing on him too).
But yeah, basically, Kakashi isn't straight (he never was and his attraction isn't strictly on men, either), and let me just say this right now. No one in this fic is straight unless I say so… And I rarely ever say so. So yeah, this is what I mean when I say I have no time for heteronormativity. You can either take it or leave it, and feel free to drop the story if you're uncomfortable with this.
So anyways, Naruto's kinda prone to meltdowns, which she had after her encounter with Hinata. She's doing a bit better, so long as she doesn't think about Boruto and Himawari. Yeah, have fun thinking about the kids you might never have, which will do wonders when you have the freaking Boruto movie to worry about—of course, it's awkward enough thinking about the kids you could have, being only physically four. Shit's awkward, basically.
ANWYAYS, time for the shout outs!
Reviewer #10: Plouton
Reviewer #11: lizy2000
Reviewer #20: Madrigal-in-training
Reviewer #22: Anonymous Reviewer Guest (hey, anons—can you try to give yourself names so I can differentiate you?)
Honorable mentions: Counting Sinful Stars, Madam3Mayh3m (love the name~!), Lord Inquisitor B Joseph H (glad you're liking it so far!), applesofiddun, Lupa Altre, Lightsbane1905, xenocanaan, lovetolongago, Not-Gonna-Update
So like…the shipping games—SasuNaru and ItaNaru have received support (as has SasuItaNaru), and Gaara has been named, too. But I've also seen NaruHina support (and also a mention of SasuNaruHina) and of course, the harem suggestion has also been supported. Maybe I should say this now…I'm quite fine with writing a harem fic—hell, Apathy, my KHR SI fic IS a harem fic. I'm also a huge supporter of polyamory ships (which is what SasuItaNaru and SasuNaruHina will fall under), if the fact that I've mentioned it many times in Metamorphosis that the set pairing for the fic is a polyamorous one.
I'm up for any ships, so long as they're healthy and have chemistry (and oh boy, you won't get any romance from me until I HAVE that chemistry written). That being said, I've thought long enough on it…and I'm gonna go through with the harem. So the shipping games will continue as usual, because now the question lies: Who will be part of that harem?
The answer: It could be anyone, because gender isn't being taken into consideration—it's chemistry…so have fun! Feel free to review if you have anything to say, especially if you want to get involved in the shipping games.
That's about it for now, so until next time everyone! KD out! XD
