Chapter 3: Pre-Teen Angst and Lewd T-Shirts
Just like Kakashi had thought, around one in the morning he heard a muffled cry from down the hallway. He silently padded towards Sasuke's bedroom door and knocked. There was no reply for the few seconds Kakashi waited "I'm coming in." He stated opening the door a moment later.
Sasuke was sitting up in his bed, his breathing was coming out faster than usual. The boy glared down at his own shaking hands that were balled up into white-knuckled fists. "I'm fine." He gritted out.
"I know." Kakashi stated sitting on the edge of his bed. Sasuke looked up at him, clearly surprised. "I was just wondering if you wanted a sandwich. I always get hungry around this time. You?" A crease appeared between the boy's eyebrows but he nodded a moment later. "Alright then, join me in the kitchen?" Sasuke nodded again and pushed his covers back to get out of bed.
Kakashi busied himself chopping the veggies for the sandwiches and asked "The usual?"
"Yeah." Sasuke mumbled.
The kitchen was silent again for a few minutes as Kakashi went about making their meal. Kakashi set the sandwiches down in front of Sasuke and was in the process of putting the ingredients away when the kid finally spoke. "It was just another dream about that night. Nothing I'm not used to." Kakashi froze for a split second then continued on with what he was doing.
"I see." He said. There was another long pause.
"Kakashi... Do you... Do you still have dreams about... about when..." Sasuke faded out, unable to finish the question. Kakashi didn't need him to to know what he was asking.
"I do." He stated casually. "And it still upsets me when it happens. I don't think that will ever change." What little light that was in Sasuke's eyes dimmed slightly. "It does get easier though, Sasuke."
Sasuke looked at the man with poorly disguised hope.
"You don't have to be strong all the time. There's strength in knowing when to show weakness too." Kakashi stated. 'What am I thinking, saying cheesy lines like that to a kid?' Sasuke looked thoroughly confused. Kakashi put on a brief and unconvincing smile that wasn't even visible anyway. "Maybe you'll understand when you're older." He pulled down his mask and picked up a sandwich from his plate. "Let's eat."
After finishing their late night snack Sasuke headed back up to bed while Kakashi cleaned up. Hopefully the boy would get some sleep after this. 'Oh well, tomorrow's Sunday, so he can sleep in anyways.' Kakashi surmised setting the two freshly washed dishes in the drying rack. He was halfway up the stairs to his own room when he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. He retraced his steps heading back down the stairs and looked at the clock, "2:02" He mumbled to himself. He poked his head out into the front hallway. "Hello." He greeted Itachi as the teen hung his jacket up on the coat rack.
"What are you doing up this late?" Itachi asked. Kakashi hesitated for a moment. "Sasuke had another dream?" That was something that had never ceased to annoy Kakashi when Itachi was younger. Almost nothing got past the older Uchiha.
Kakashi sighed and nodded. "He's better, for now, at least. We talked." Itachi nodded. "So I forgot to ask, what were you up to tonight?"
"Have I ever mentioned that if Sasuke or I were anyone else we'd probably be dead or in prison under your care?"
"Well I obviously failed at teaching you boys any manners..." Kakashi sighed. "It's only because it's you two that I know it's safe to leave you to your own devices sometimes. Anyways, don't change the subject. What were you up to?"
"I was over at Sasori's place."
"The annoying one with too much hair?"
"No, that's Deidara. Sasori has short red hair."
"Oh right." Kakashi muttered absently not remembering anyone named Sasori with red hair. "You two didn't do anything I'll get a phone call about in the morning?"
"No." Itachi answered.
"Nothing either potentially or immediately harmful to your well-being?"
"No, we just watched movies."
"Alright then." Kakashi said heading back towards the stairs. Itachi followed a few steps later. "I'm heading back to bed then. Good night Itachi."
"Hn." Was all the man got in return.
'Absolutely no manners. Maybe I can enroll Sasuke in etiquette lessons. Itachi's probably too far gone.' Kakashi mused, going up the stairs to his bedroom.
The next morning found Kakashi cooking omelets. Ignoring the eight pairs of hungry eyes trained on him and the skillet. "You guys will have your food." He said to the cluster of furry beggars. Obviously this didn't deter them. All of them wagged their tails when he acknowledged their existence. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the open door to the living room. "Out!" He said in a clear, authoritative voice. The dogs reluctantly followed his command, focusing baleful gazes on him, which Kakashi ignored, all the way until they'd left the room.
"Maybe if you stopped feeding them people food they wouldn't beg so often." Itachi's voice remarked from the stairs.
"Maybe if you stopped 'accidentally' dropping food whenever you cook they wouldn't get their hopes up." Kakashi retorted a small smile evident in his voice. 'Surprisingly you're not always as chilly as you act.'
"Hn." Itachi grunted and took a seat at the kitchen table. Kakashi took the omelet from the skillet and slid it onto a plate which he set in front of the older Uchiha brother.
"Is Sasuke awake yet?" Kakashi asked, cracking more eggs into a mixing bowl and picking up the whisker.
"I don't think so." Itachi picked up his utensils and started cutting the food into small pieces.
"Alright." Kakashi hummed, vaguely concentrating on making the eggs fluffy. Kami, he was exhausted. Working two full-time and one part time job was taking a toll on him.
"You should quit one of your jobs." Itachi stated. 'That kid has to be psychic.' Kakashi thought with a small amount of annoyance.
"Yeah, you're right." Kakashi mumbled without much commitment.
"The job at the karate dojo pays the least."
"But Sasuke likes it there."
"Can't he still take classes there even if you quit?"
"He could but I'm not sure how constructive or... pleasant his time there would be."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember what happened to that substitute for Kurenai-san last year?" They both paused to remember the poor girl who'd left the KKK in a fit of angry tears. Kakashi poured the liquid eggs into the skillet, savoring the hissing sound as the golden goo made contact with the hot iron. He threw some diced tomatoes, peppers, and cheese in with the eggs.
"I'm sure Kurenai-sensei or Asuma-Sensei would be able to deal with him better than she did." Itachi stated taking a bite of his omelet.
"Probably, but it would be slower. I can't even imagine Gai trying to teach him." Kakashi sighed scratching his scalp mussing his already wild hair even more.
"Can't he take his time?"
"I suppose, but isn't Sasuke supposed to be enjoying lessons like this, rather than being in such a bad mood that he'd make sixteen year old girl cry?"
"It's not that difficult to make a girl that age cry."
"This is coming from one of Konoha High School's most infamous heartbreakers." Kakashi leveled a blank look at Itachi. "Still, my point is valid. I wouldn't mind quitting so long as I knew he had a friend or two to keep him company there."
"That's what you're worried about?" Itachi asked, his eyes widening the slightest bit.
"You've noticed it too right? He rarely talks to anyone besides you and me unless he has to." Kakashi stated flipping the omelet over on itself.
"I have. But perhaps if you left he'd make friends on his own."
The silver-haired man hummed, patting the omelet with the spatula and staring absently at the sizzling yellow lump. "If that were true he would have made friends already when he was in Kurenai's class."
Itachi brought out the big guns. "It's great that Sasuke has an instructor like you. But overall he needs a healthy and capable parent. You need to take care of yourself too, Kakashi."
Kakashi turned to look at Itachi "I'm being lectured by someone ten years younger than me." He murmured. "I'll consider quitting. For the time being, just help me keep an eye on him."
Itachi stared long and hard at Kakashi but in the end he nodded silently and went back to eating his omelet.
"I'm running some errands today, need anything?" Kakashi asked to break the silent tension just as much to change the subject.
Itachi smirked. "I'll come with you, I need a few more pairs of pants."
"So, the mall?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then."
Their conversation was interrupted by the soft creaking of the stairs and the distinct sound of bare feet padding across finished wood.
"Ah, just in time, Sasuke." Kakashi stated scooping up the omelet and setting it on a plate.
Sasuke yawned and took his usual seat at the table. Kakashi set the plate in front of the younger brother and asked. "Anywhere in particular you want to go today?"
"The book store." Sasuke muttered.
"My, you're a strange child." Kakashi joked. Sasuke scowled half-heartedly at him, Itachi popped a piece of omelet into his mouth with a small smirk on his lips. "Alright. Mall, bookstore, grocery." Kakashi muttered resuming his position, leaning against the kitchen counter with the warm mug of coffee in his hands. He closed his eye and inhaled the the scent of the bitter brew wishing he could postpone the busy day ahead.
The mall wasn't too terribly crowded. Most of the teenagers were sleeping in and it was time for the older people to come out of their week long hibernation to wander aimlessly through the mall's hallways in search of items they didn't need. Itachi headed straight for his favorite store once the three males entered the building. Sasuke and Kakashi followed him at a slower pace taking time to look around and see if they liked anything displayed in the shop windows.
"Hey, Kakashi." There was a tug on the silver-haired man's sleeve. "Can we go in there?" Sasuke asked pointing to the window of a shop that seemed to be selling video games.
"Sure. Itachi." The older boy stopped and turned to loom back at them. "Come get us when you need to pay." Itachi nodded and walked off again.
Kakashi followed Sasuke into the video game store and had a look around himself. Itachi's birthday was coming up soon. Would he be interested in any of this? No, probably not. Sasuke looked around for a while and after glaring at one of the games stacked on a high shelf for two minutes he decided that he didn't want anything. "Are you sure you don't want it?" Kakashi asked the boy.
Sasuke looked back at the game. "I'm sure."
"Alright then, let's go find your brother, ne?" The masked man said stepping out into the mall corridor.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted and followed Kakashi out of the store. Before they had reached Itachi Sasuke tugged on the back of Kakashi's shirt.
"Hm?" Kakashi hummed looking down at his younger ward curiously.
"I don't want to go that way." Sasuke stated. Kakashi looked in the direction Sasuke had indicated. It was seconds before he noticed what, or rather, who it was that Sasuke didn't want to cross paths with. A group of girls around Sasuke's age were standing and looking into a store window. At the forefront of the group were two girls Kakashi knew he had seen before. "They're annoying." Sasuke grumbled.
"Alas! To be cursed with such good looks." Kakashi jested mimicking the action of a fashion model glamorously flipping her hair over her shoulder.
There was something that sounded suspiciously like a soft snort of laughter from behind Kakashi. 'Ah, there we go.' He smiled a little beneath his mask at the fact that, at times, he could cheer Sasuke up. 'See? I'm not a total failure at parenting.' They stopped in front of the store Itachi frequented.
If teenage angst had a window display, this would be it.
Most of the so-called 'clothing' was intentionally ripped, splattered with bleach or paint or patched. The skirts resembled frilly belts more than anything and the pants threatened to make any young man wearing them infertile for life. The t-shirts were covered in band logos, references from old movies, TV shows or cartoons as well as poorly disguised innuendos even a grade schooler could understand. Kakashi and Sasuke looked on completely unimpressed.
They stepped inside the store and looked around for a familiar head of long black hair. The place was reasonably small and the shelves were low enough for Kakashi to see over them easily so they found the elder Uchiha quickly.
"Find anything?" Kakashi asked from his spot behind Itachi.
"Two pairs of pants and one shirt." Itachi stated, looking at a dark blue shirt pensively.
"It's almost summer. How about you pick out some warmer weather clothes too?" Kakashi said catching sight of a pair of shorts a little way's down the aisle.
Itachi stared at the clothes in his arms. He seemed to make up his mind and left to put a pair back. Kakashi turned in time to see Sasuke pulling a shirt from one of the shelves. "Do you like that one Sas-?" He choked when he saw what decorated the front of the shirt. Large letters spelling out "Bitch Mode" Underneath the text were two check boxes with the words 'on' and 'off' next to them. A large red check mark was made through the box next to 'on'. However accurate that may be sometimes it still wasn't terribly appropriate for an eleven year-old.
"Um How about we go look for something closer to your size." Kakashi said, taking the shirt out of Sasuke's hands and putting it back on the shelf before pulling the now confused and annoyed boy in the direction of what looked like smaller sizes of clothing. Kakashi had barely kept himself from laughing.
"Kakashi." Sasuke's annoyed voice called from behind the man.
"Yes?"
"You're acting weird."
"Me? Never." Kakashi said sarcastically. Sasuke scowled and turned to look at some shirts that were, hopefully, more appropriate for his age.
Kakashi looked around in search of Itachi when he caught the eye of one of the sales clerks. She walked up to him "Hey, we have a sale going on. Two tank tops for $25 store-wide."
"Thank you." Kakashi said smiling politely although you could only tell by the slight upturn of his closed eye.
"Cute kid ya got there." She said looking at Sasuke who was just out of earshot. Which was fortunate, really, since the boy absolutely hated being called cute. 'You're still talking to me?' Kakashi wondered. She crossed her arms over her chest which, now that Kakashi got a good look at it, was covered with little more than her jacket and a mesh undershirt. 'Is this why this is your favorite store, Itachi? She looks like she could be my age.' Kakashi wondered.
"Thank you." Kakashi said.
"So are you a ninja or a pirate?" She asked a smirk on her thin lips.
"Excuse me?" Kakashi asked.
"Your-" she gestured to her own face obviously indicating Kakashi's mask and eye patch. "It's a bit confusing."
"Ah, I apologize for the confusion." Kakashi replied smiling. 'I can't tell if you're making fun of me.' "But I'm neither."
"Then what are you?" She asked.
"A man who would like to continue his shopping." Kakashi answered trying his best to keep his tone light.
"Do you have scars or something under that?" She asked.
"No." Kakashi answered.
"So you wear a mask for no reason?"
"No, I have a reason."
"Then what is it?"
"What is what?"
"What's your reason?"
"My reason? That's a little persona-"
"For the mask!?"
"What about my mask?"
"Nevermind!" She barked storming away. Kakashi felt eyes on him, he turned to find Sasuke looking up at him. "Can't you just tell her to go away like a normal human being?" The boy asked.
"She didn't strike me as the type to listen." Kakashi replied.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted and held up a shirt. "I want this one." Kakashi inspected it briefly for anything obscene or insulting and after it passed the test he nodded.
"You don't have to get just one. You need some shirts right?" Kakashi asked.
"I guess." The kid mumbled.
"Go pick a couple more out." The masked man turned Sasuke around with a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little push forward. Sasuke shot a half-hearted scowl over his shoulder.
"Kakashi." A familiar monotone voice spoke from behind him.
"Itachi. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Sasuke needs a few new shirts so let's wait a minute." Kakashi said. Itachi nodded and stood patiently beside him. A few moments later Sasuke walked up to the two with the clothing he wanted and they headed for the checkout. A kid with wild orange hair, brown eyes and multiple piercings in his nose, lower lip and ears greeted them at the counter. He smiled and waved at Itachi.
"Hey, how are you?" He asked looking between Kakashi and Itachi. The pale man held his hand up in a silent wave.
"We're fine." Itachi said. Surprisingly, the older Uchiha avoided eye contact with the orange-haired male. The long-haired teen pushed his and Sasuke's purchases further onto the counter bowing his head and needlessly brushing his bangs away from his face. The uncharacteristic mannerism wasn't lost on Kakashi who raised a single eyebrow and watched to see if anything more interesting would happen. Sasuke looked boredly through the small trinkets set by the cash register for last minute purchases.
The pierced man ran the clothes through the system all the while chatting. "So Itachi, is this your little brother?" He asked looking down at Sasuke.
"Yes, this is Sasuke." Itachi muttered.
Sasuke eyed the redhead for a moment then turned away with a "Hn."
"The resemblance is almost uncanny." He chuckled. "By the way, why do you come here if you only buy the plain stuff?" He held up one of the dark blue tank tops and scanned its tag.
"I like the way they're cut here." Itachi answered. 'Weak.' Kakashi nearly rolled his eyes.
The clerk shrugged. "Whatever you say. So are you planning on actually getting some sun this summer?" He asked, holding up a pair of shorts and folding them over his arm.
"Maybe." Itachi said.
"Don't stay out for too long, though, I think you look better when you're pale."
A faint blush was obvious to anyone who was looking for it on Itachi's face. "I... Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
The clerk smiled and passed him the bag of clothing "That'll be 206.56 ryou. Do you have your rewards card?" He asked. Itachi pulled out his wallet and handed the man his card. "Alright, you guys got a 15% discount leaving the total at 175.58." Kakashi handed over his card which the redhead swiped and handed back to him.
"Alright, have a nice day you guys." The clerk waved them goodbye. Itachi was the first to turn away. He walked ahead of the two without looking back until they left the mall.
"I never knew you swung that way, Itachi." Kakashi hummed halfway through the car ride home as calmly as if he were commenting on the weather.
Itachi paused for a moment and then said "I don't know what you're talking about."
"He's saying you're gay." Sasuke murmured indelicately from the back seat.
"Sasuke, where did you learn that word?" Itachi asked turning in his seat. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked out of the window.
"What's his name again?" Kakashi asked.
"...Yahiko." Itachi answered finally.
There was a long pause. "You should invite him out one of these days." Kakashi said "Seems like a nice kid."
"He's at least only eight years younger than you." Itachi said.
"And that's only about two years older than you, aren't you supposed to be arguing his case?"
"Hn." Itachi grunted crossing his arms over his chest. Silently, Kakashi snuck a hand to hover above Itachi's head.
"Wha-" Itachi started. Kakashi's forceful hand came down ruffling the teen's smooth hair. Itachi caught his wrist and pushed it away, irritation obvious in his expression. "What was that for?" He asked.
"Ridiculous." Sasuke muttered.
Kakashi grinned beneath his mask. "Maybe next time you'll ask for his number, ne?" He turned on the windshield wipers as the rain began to pick up.
"Since when is my love life any of your business, Kakashi?" Itachi asked taking his hair tie out and smoothing his already nearly perfect black locks.
"It isn't, but if I didn't push you to do things that would make you happy every once in a while I'd be a poor parent wouldn't I?" Kakashi stated turning the car into the driveway.
"But he's already in college." Itachi opened the car door.
"So?" Kakashi asked, stepping out of the car.
"I'm a minor." Itachi opened the back door and pulled out his bag from the mall.
"As long as he's not taking advantage of you it's fine right?" Kakashi asked opening the door to the mudroom.
"He lives on the other side of town." Itachi followed his adoptive father inside.
"You know where he lives? I'm fine with lending you the car." Kakashi stated, taking off his shoes.
"He's a man." Itachi stated kicking off his shoes beside the masked man.
"I gathered that, and?" Kakashi was eying something suspicious and brown on the bottom of his sneaker.
"Any sane parent would take one look at him and pull out the shotgun." Itachi handed the bag off to Sasuke who took the bag and headed out of the room with one final eye roll.
"We've already concluded I'm not a sane parent." Kakashi stated, sniffing the bottom of his shoe tentatively. "And if he causes any irreparable damage I won't need a gun."
"He has nineteen piercings on his head alone." Itachi stood straight.
"You counted them? You must really like him. Good..." He muttered the last word when he concluded that what was on the bottom of the shoe was only a bit of mud. "What do you want for dinner tonight? I'm going to the grocery later today."
"I can't believe you." Itachi shook his head.
"Listen Itachi, if I'm mistaken and you don't actually like him then fine. But if you do like him go after him. As far as I'm concerned you could certainly do worse." Kakashi said. "If you could make a list of the stuff you want food-wise for the next week that would be nice." The silver-haired man stated and left the mudroom. "You too, Sasuke!" Kakashi called from the hallway.
"Fine!" Sasuke yelled back from the living room where, no doubt, he had curled up with his new book and wouldn't leave for another few hours. Itachi didn't come out of the mudroom for another five minutes when Kakashi poked his head in to see if anything was wrong he spotted Itachi staring at a blank stretch of wall, a contemplative look in his eyes.
Kakashi winced as a twinge of pain surged into life at the base of his skull. Massaging the area he decided to allow Itachi some privacy and went to get himself some migraine medicine.
So there, I decided on a Yahiko and Itachi for the second pairing. I chose the living Yahiko instead of gloomy-as-hell Deva Path Nagato/Yahiko. I thought, 'Y'know, maybe I should do a pairing that isn't seen too often.' Thank you for your reviews! They feed my motivation and my considerable ego. But my poor ego's still hungry. Feed it... Feeeed it.