"C'mon, Kakashi! What's up? Why won't you talk to me?"

"Obito, go away." He was following me around like a lost puppy.

"No. You need to answer me! I'm not gonna leave you alone until you talk to me!"

I tried to wave him away. "You won't understand. It wouldn't matter to you."

"You know it would. We've been friends since we were seven. That's five years. So I don't get why you've been such a jerk to me since we got put onto the same team! I care about you! I'll listen to whatever you'll say. I'm your friend."

I couldn't take it anymore. It was really hurting to listen to him talk like that. I spun around and started screaming at him, "NO! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! I DON'T LIKE YOU ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND! YOU STUPID FAILURE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I started running away, and then looked back at him, just standing there, staring at me and starting to cry. It hurts now, I told myself, but it'll be better for both of us in the end. If only dad could've realized that you can't get close to people, it just can't work…

I didn't know where I was going now. I didn't care. I just had to get away.

"Kakashi, you need a haircut," Mom said to me six months later while I was eating my bacon.

"What?"

"Your hair is getting long. You should cut it."

"Uh, mom? Last time I checked, you seemed to be quite fond of men with long hair." I laughed when she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Only on him. Otherwise… ew. Just ew. Besides, it doesn't really work on you."

"Oh, is that what you think? I bet lots of girls think I look perfectly fine."

She crossed her arms and gave me a face. "Huh. Well, they don't know how it looks with your face. If they could see your face, you would be an even bigger hit with the ladies then you are now."

"But I don't wanna be a ladies man," I whined.

Mom laughed and gave me a hug. "You got your looks from your dad. Trust me. You think I married him just so we could talk?"

"Ew!" I cried. "Can we end this conversation?!"

"Well how do you think you got here?"

I got up and ran to the door. "I think I'm gonna be late if I don't hurry." I pulled my sandals on along with my mask.

"Okay, fine. But hey, you know I'm proud of you, right? My little man."

"I'm not little. And you know it could be at least a few days 'til I get back, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll miss you, Kakashi."

"I'll miss you too, Mom. Bye, love you." I picked up my back pack and rushed down the hallway.

A couple of months ago, Mom couldn't talk about Dad without crying, but now she didn't even flinch. She was normal again.

And today, I was a jounin. And as my reward, I'm leading my team in a mission. Before I even knew what it was, I had a feeling it wasn't gonna turn out good.