The Method For A Gentle World
'... remember our bet at the train station?...'

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Are you... familiar with the name Uzumaki?

She had no right.

How do you know that name?

She had no right to say that name.

Tell me!

She had no right to ask him without explaining why. She had no right to just leave him in the dark, to leave him with a cliffhanger in the literal dark, and she had no right to no explain why—just why she knew the goddamn name.

I can't tell you.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked to no one, before his eyelids fluttered shut and sleep claimed him–––

–––"Well, hello."

Normally, Kakashi wouldn't be surprised to arrive in his Mind Palace in his slumber, but that sickly sweet voice just made his eyes widen like rich men's plates. Before him was the object of his frustration in a silver wheelchair.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi spat, even though he knew the answer. If something in reality plagued his mind like meningitis, it was sure to plague his Mind Palace as well. Still, that didn't stop him from marching over to Nohara Rin.

"Seems you aren't in the mood for niceties," Rin said. "I realize I wasn't being fair to you last night. I'm sorry for that."

"I didn't get any sleep that night," Kakashi growled.

"I know. I'm sorry. I promise I'll explain everything today."

He raised a brow. "Today?"

"Well, yeah. You can't expect a figment of your imagination to explain everything," Rin pointed out.

Kakashi found he couldn't counter that. This Rin was not the real Rin. If he wanted answers, he'd have to get them himself. "Fine. I'll be off to see the real one."

"Not so fast." Rin smirked as she propped an elbow on a grave. "Didn't you have a reason for entering this place?"

Kakashi had a sharp glint in his eyes when he saw that grave. This one wasn't weathered like that last one about Sakumo, and the lettering was clearer and more pronounced.

UZUMAKI KUSHINA – meadow – date unknown

"It's okay," Rin assured him. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay, and Kakashi damn well conveyed that with his icy glare.

"You have no right to say that."

She had no right–––

–––He was glad to be woken up by the clatter of china. When the waitress took away his empty cup, Kakashi realized something he should've realized before.

His quest for answers would bring him back to that den of brats.

The chair groaned when he stood up, but unlike Kakashi's, it wasn't in frustration.

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He was in Shinobi Academy's staffroom, watching his coffee ripple as he walked over to the lounge. Kakashi was lucky that he had the whole eight hours to himself marking assessments. At least he could steal a nap like he was doing right now. Slowly, his eyes began to shut as they stared into his coffee, which reminded him of Rin's gaze—

"Kakashi, my rival!"

He bolted awake, the coffee sloshing in the cup. Kakashi gave an irritated scowl as he stared at him.

"Gai. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you, my rival~! I haven't seen you in a week! What—Kakashi, don't throw that at me!"

"I've been avoiding you," replied the silver-head truthfully as he held up his cup threateningly at Gai. The man with the bowl-cut hairstyle just smiled back with blinding, white teeth (rumors said that Gai used some special toothpaste).

"You're like a ninja, Kakashi! So sneaky! So cool and hip—"

Kakashi 'accidentally' splattered some coffee on Gai's face.

"AAH! Kakashi, that burns! But don't worry! I will feel the pain with the energy of youth!" Summoning the energies of everything youthful, Gai struck his 'nice guy' pose.

Kakashi facepalmed. He really didn't know how to deal with his obnoxious colleague Maito Gai, who was always seen wearing green apparel and a goofy grin. His other colleagues gave him his space, but Gai was the exception. The PE teacher was a pain in Kakashi's ass, and it didn't help that he had endless fields of happiness in his head—happiness that Kakashi (though he denied it) was envious of.

"Kakashi, my rival, you shouldn't waste your youthfulness on sleep! Come, I challenge you to a game of janken!"

He supposed that the only good thing about Gai was that the man never failed to amuse him at times. Placing his cup on the table, Kakashi nodded. "Fine. Let's play."

The game ended with him drawing paper to Gai's rock.

"You are too hip, Kakashi! Again!"

The game ended with him drawing rock to Gai's scissors.

"I win."

"Again!"

Jan!

Ken!

Pon!

Paper met rock.

"NUUU!" cried Gai, tears of youth trickling down his cheeks. "You have bested me, my eternal rival! I accept defeat!"

"Good. Now let me sleep." And with that, the silver-head dozed off, only to awake again because of Gai's incessant poking. "What is it now?"

"You usually aren't this tired," said Gai in a rarely contemplative mood. "Did you sleep late last night, my rival?"

"I slept in the morning."

"Did you really? That's bad for your youth! Look at you! You... You have panda eyes!"

"Shut up," Kakashi growled, although he made a note to look at himself in the mirror sometime. "I had things to do."

"Like what?"

Like planning insidious questions to interrogate a cripple about his past. Not that Kakashi would ever reveal that. "I had a date."

"WHA—?! My cool and hip rival—" and it was so like Gai to make such a dramatic reaction to a complete lie, "—actually went on a date?! Kakashi! You are truly youthfu—"

The rest of his coffee burned its way onto the PE teacher's face just as the bell for the end of school rang.

"Ja ne," said Kakashi shortly as he exited the staffroom. Behind him, Gai was babbling about 'cool and hip' as well as 'good luck on another date!', which was laughable since Kakashi was more 'depressed and angsty' than 'cool and hip'. Oh, and he didn't have another date. Meeting Nohara Rin in a daycare was not a date. Unless it was a date with a well-disguised devil.

He was outside the school when he realized that he hadn't finished marking the rest of his class' assessments, but Kakashi figured he'd blame it on Gai and janken.

An hour later, he was reconsidering visitation.

Maybe he didn't have to confront Rin to interrogate her. Kakashi loathed face-to-face conversations, but not because he blamed people. Rather, he blamed himself. But it was in his nature to be aloof. Besides, forcing himself to become more sociable would scare the hell out of his colleagues.

Relcutantly, Kakashi dialed the number on the business card from Rin. Kami knows why he still kept it.

"Hello, this is Konoha Daycare. How may we help you?"

"You're a daycare, not an insurance company," he deadpanned. The angry voice of Obito replied in vicious tones loud enough for passersby to hear. Kakashi was standing next to a pedestrian crossing; interestingly, it was in the same road where he first met the Uchiha. "I need to speak to Rin."

"Why?"

Kakashi did not miss the accusing tone. "She's expecting me."

"About six kids expect her for story time, too."

"Please. I need her."

That magic word was all it took for Obito to acquiesce. There was a crackle and a 'Rin-chan!' before Kakashi heard the woman's voice. "Hello? Kakashi?"

"It's me," he affirmed. "Is Obito listening?"

There was the sound of shooing before Rin replied, "Not anymore. So, Kakashi, have you called to talk about last night?"

"Yes."

"If you want answers, I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time." What? "I'm sorry Kakashi, but we have our hands full at the moment."

"... I guess I'll call you back."

"No, you should visit instead."

Kakashi growled, holding the phone close to his ear. "No offense, but I'm not up for another afternoon with brats."

"How about the evening?" Too bad, Kakashi had work to finish. "Afternoon then. We'll talk privately." Privately, where she can warp it into some therapy session. Sounds great. "Kakashi, I don't know if you're talking to yourself or what, but you simply have to visit."

He was getting tired of her games. "Why, Rin? What is so important that I have to go there?"

A pause.

"Because it's not something you should hear on the phone. I don't have answers for you. I have a revelation. And believe me—by the end of it, you'll want to stay in the daycare."

Without another word, she hung up.

He was not going.

Kakashi had enjoyed himself yesterday—it was no use being in denial now. He would've considered going today if Rin hadn't just dampened his mood last night. He was having a good time until she mentioned that one word that haunted him. Uzumaki. There was too much history between him and that word, too much trauma to comprehend. With four syllables it all came back to him.

All the sadness he had bottled up over the years had popped, and he took it out on the one person trying to help him. It wasn't Rin's fault, no matter how much he wanted to blame it on her.

... Was it?

Kakashi backtracked. Why did Rin ask the question in the first place? A question like that was exclusive, and probably would've sounded weird to any other perso—

Wait.

Did she know who he was? Is that why she asked? Did she know before the train station? Was that the reason she even saved him at all? Because she knew him?

He thought he knew her. Altruistic + cunning + disabled = Nohara Rin. Apparently he forgot 'is privy to Hatake Kakashi's life' in the equation.

If so, then how come these events all led up to today? Was it Fate that made them meet? Once was luck, twice was coincidence, thrice was fate. Once at the train station, again yesterday, a phone call today.

Fate = Nohara Rin.

Kakashi sighed and stood up from the park bench. It was four in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten much and he just wanted to go home and sleep his depression off but fuck it. He was going.

The three new toddlers were also an interesting bunch. Kakashi learned their names, but of course they came up with a godawful nickname.

"Ka-san!" bellowed Choji, who was munching by the kiddy-buffet table. "Want some crackers?"

Kakashi shook his head. He knew that the tubby toddler, with his brown, spiky hair that rivaled Naruto's, was only asking out of politeness. Choji loved to eat, and the silver-head was surprised that he would even bother to share. Or offer, that is.

He spotted another one called Ino brushing Sakura's hair. Okay, the platinum-blonde toddler was more like scratching through Sakura's pink tangles. And teasing her forehead. But the two at least had one thing in common, and that was their annoyance towards a certain loud blonde.

"Heehee! Sakura-chan's hair is so tangly!"

"G-Go away, baka!"

"Yea!" Then Ino stopped to contemplate. "Unless you wan' me to brush your hair too!" That wiped the smirk from Naruto's face. "Sakura! Get 'im!"

To Kakashi's right, Sasuke and that nosy Shikamaru kid were playing an animal memory game. Kakashi couldn't remember the exact score, but he was sure that Shikamaru was in the lead. It was making Sasuke edgy. The Uchiha flipped over a card that revealed a cat before flipping another one. It was a pig.

"Bad move," said Shikamaru. "Should've gone for the top corner." He flipped the cat card again before choosing the top corner card, revealing the same cat. By then there was only one pair left. Sasuke knew that he had lost, but his pride prevented him from admitting it. He glared at his opponent, and Shikamaru glared back.

Then Choji appeared between them with a lot of crackers. "Hi Sas'ke, Shik'maru! Want some crackers?"

"I want a rematch."

"This is your third."

"Um." Choji waved crackers in front of them. "You hungry?"

"NOT NOW!"

Kakashi sighed, running his fingers through his silver hair. He had to admit he had missed this.

"You're here."

Kakashi tried not to look eager as he turned around. Nohara Rin and her trusty wheelchair met his neutral gaze and thin-lipped expression. When neither of them budged for a minute, Rin finally dropped her smile and ushered him inside the house.

The creaking of her wheels filled the empty house. It was a homely place with a polished wooden floor and tattered, flowery wallpaper that still managed to stick to the walls. There was a lack of furniture, which Kakashi guessed was because of Rin's disability. She led him inside her room, which was even barer than the rest of the house, consisting only of a bed, a footstool, a desk and a dresser. And there was no shortage of photos tacked to the walls. Just by looking at them, Kakashi could tell how Rin had lived her childhood.

She gestured for him to sit on her bed, and when Kakashi complied he immediately shot her a question. "Why didn't you want to tell me earlier? On the phone?"

Rin wasn't facing him; she was straightening a sheaf of papers on her desk. "I just needed to find some documents," she replied. She let the sheaf rest on her lap to swivel around to face him. "I had them in one of these dressers, and they were so old that it took me a while to find them."

"What are they?" Kakashi asked, peering.

Rin flipped the papers so that he couldn't see. "Not yet. I have to start explaining, don't I?"

She fixed him a grim smile.

"My parents, despite their eagerness to meet new people, kept in touch with two of their classmates from their high school. Their names were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. They mostly communicated via emails since my parents and I lived in Iwa at the time. But over the years, they lost contact with them. I had only heard of Minato-san and Kushina-san from my parents. Growing up, they would tell me stories about them."

"How about the story of their deaths?" Kakashi snarked.

"My parents went abroad, and I was out for three months. I'm afraid I was in a coma at that time."

"Then I have another question. Did you know me before the train station?"

Rin took her time answering this one. "It was... a realization. Your name sounded familiar, and after that day I dug around some documents and found it. Hatake Kakashi, adopted son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

Kakashi raised a brow. "Why would you have files about me?"

Something happened. Rin's helpfulness had taken an a-hundred-and-eighty degree turn into something else. Apprehension, Kakashi thought.

"I... I don't know how to explain this to you. So here." She handed him the papers. "Just read."

This was it. In her hand was the answer he wanted ever since Rin spoke those four syllables.

Now it was in his.

He scanned through the first sheet. It was formal, with lines of fine print stretching across the page. At the bottom was a signature and a red stamp. "These—these are adoption papers," he stammered, flipping through the pages, "for... Uzumaki Naruto."

Kakashi felt like the room was closing in on him. A blanket of disbelief numbed his limbs, and the papers slipped from his fingers. Uzumaki Naruto.

He had a fucking sibling. And he hadn't known for five years.

"H—How—?"

"He was born before they died," Rin said. "Kushina-san was pregnant at the time. They protected him until help came... by then it was too late. Naruto was the only survivor." She looked to the wall where an old photo of her and Naruto was plastered. "They contacted me. Said that my mother was one of Kushina-san's emergency contacts. When I found out..."

Rin picked up the papers from the floor, despite being paraplegic. "I had to take him in," she whispered.

And Kakashi knew why he hadn't been contacted first. He'd been Minato and Kushina's son—adopted, yes, but son nevertheless—and he hadn't stepped up.

"It's... I..."

The room closed in on him. Pictures of a young Rin and her parents. Pictures of those blue eyes and shock of red hair.

And they flew away in his haste. Kakashi left the room, the house, and came upon the front yard. The open road was before him, but there were no cars. He sunk to the pathway. He heard shouts but they sounded like incoming trains. Closer and closer.

His eyes met black.

He remembered Kushina the most. She stuck out like a sore thumb, all sass and sound, whilst his real mother was quieter and gentler round the edges. Not to say that she'd been a bad mother, nor that Kushina had been a better one.

He remembered the day when Kushina took him to the playground. They'd gone to the swings first because the seat was plastic and wouldn't be hot from the sun. But it sparked memories of him and Sakumo, and he wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

So they went to the meadow. It was full of dandelions and they had fun blowing them all. He had run through an entire patch and it'd exploded into something like snow. Spring snow.

And he remembered Kushina giving him a dead daisy, and he asked what it was. She said it was beautiful and not something to be overlooked by hundreds of dandelions. She said that it didn't matter that it was dead. It mattered that it had lived.

Kakashi had kept that close to his heart. But sinking nails and year-long lamentations took its toll on him, until that night in the train station. When he wanted to be that daisy; explode like a dandelion.

It was noon when he woke.

He was on a bed that wasn't Rin's. He knew because the room didn't remind him of her.

It had a bigger desk with various stationery scattered across—pencils, pens, and even those little whiteboards with a cork-board attached, tacked with pictures and reminders. There was a bin frothing with papers and candy wrappers. There were more dressers; some were so full that the drawers stuck out, and orange goggles hung from the topmost knob.

He concluded that he was in Obito's room. Kakashi groaned. Rin was in a wheelchair and unless the brats had carried him canoe-style, it was Obito who he was indebted to.

Funnily enough, the door opened and said man came in with a tired look on his face. Behind Obito was some kid's show called Shippuden blaring from the lounge TV, but it faded with his entrance. He had locked the door.

"We need to talk."

Kakashi said nothing. The Uchiha sat on the desk chair, with the most serious expression he's ever seen him have.

"Rin told me. About you and Naruto."

Kakashi said nothing.

"She didn't tell me sooner because she knew I'd lose my mind. Say I didn't want you back here. And she's right. She's always right. But... we've been taking care of Naruto for a long time. He's been like a son to me. To know that he has family... estranged family... it's taking its toll, you know? Especially when his family is you."

There was a pause in which they just stared at each other, broken by Kakashi's relent.

Obito took a deep breath.

"I just want you to know that you're an asshole." he began. "That you've done some pretty shitty things. But I won't hold that against you. Because... she was like this, too. Course, she got better, but when she'd woken from her coma and found her legs dead she wished she never woke up. And I guess that's you now."

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Look. I don't like you. But you're Naruto's brother and you obviously need help with that. And it's not your fault, really. You were in rehab."

"Rehab," said Kakashi. This time he was mocking.

"Look. You're guilty and I appreciate that. But it's time to forget the past, alright? Move on with your life. You've got family now. And I swear, if you ever try to leave Naruto, I will throw you under the tracks myself. You understand?"

Kakashi observed his bed. It was shunted to a corner, as if it was intruding upon the space and wanted out. It was a single. Kakashi remembered Rin's own single. "Not enough room to sleep next to her?" he asked.

Obito glowered. "Problem, Bakashi?"

"No," the silver-haired man said. He buried himself in Obito's blankets and said nothing more.

Dinner would be coming soon, if the smells were anything indication.

The ceiling had become Kakashi's new best friend. It listened so intently to his buzzing thoughts; he supposed it had some experience from the ceiling fan.

He knew he was slipping from reality, if he had just personified a ceiling fan.

Kakashi didn't care.

Then again, that was not entirely true.

The door opened again. It was Obito. But he peered in and then stepped back, like he was second-guessing himself. But it turned out that he'd had one too many a conversation with Kakashi today. Behind him appeared Rin.

"Hello Kakashi," she greeted.

She didn't wait for a reply. Obito left the two of them alone, though not without casting a warning glance towards Kakashi.

Don't make her cry.

The silence was deafening. It seemed that the ever so sympathetic Rin was lost for words. Perhaps she was afraid, Kakashi thought. Afraid what he would do.

Or what he should've done.

So he surprised himself when the ice-breaker came from him.

"Is he alright?"

'He' could've meant anybody, but there was only one brat he meant.

"Of course," Rin said, something disbelieving in her voice. "You've seen him play with the others, haven't you?"

"I meant," Kakashi said, with dry lips, "is he alright with me?"

"He... he thinks you're fine." But there was something telling in Kakashi's eyes that took Rin a while to translate. "Kakashi," she began, "he doesn't know you're his brother. We thought he was too young. And, well, you were in rehab at the time."

"Obito stopped you?"

Something of a laugh escaped her. "I stopped myself." Rin smiled, all grim. "I was overwhelmed. I had Naruto, now you? How was I going to deal with you? I wanted to help, but... I thought it best to leave it. Now I know how selfish it was of me."

Nohara Rin admitting she was selfish. Kakashi's laugh was humorless. "What do you know of selfishness, Rin? Selfishness... is born from solipsism. From being a prisoner of a lonely war. Your selfishness was born from your selflessness to protect him. From me, the lonely warrior."

"You're not lonely anymore," she said. "You have us. You have him. Family, Kakashi, you have it. It's here!"

"Yes, because I'm entirely qualified to be a brother!" He lashed out—Kakashi towered over her, and she looked so small. "I'm not strong, am I? I couldn't cope. I couldn't live. I haven't lived for them. I've gone nowhere in my life. Just in circles."

He'd gone into rehab because of Sakumo's death. Then Minato and Kushina's. It was always that same cycle of substance abuse with Kakashi, and now—

"You can be there for Naruto now!"

He looked up to smouldering eyes.

"Kakashi," Rin started, "you don't know how happy I was when you came here. I thought that when you'd see Naruto... but even so, you stayed. You stayed and had fun. So why can't you do it again? Stay here after work, everyday. Spend time with him. He... he doesn't have to know that you're his brother. Just that you're there for him."

The words sunk like anchors in oceans. Be there for him. Because he understood. He knew the pain of being orphaned; he had experienced it when Sakumo died, when Minato and Kushina died. How must it have felt for Naruto, who was only a baby at the time? Never knowing his parents except through stories, and even then they would seem like characters in a story he wasn't a part of. How many trials did he face to forget, or tribulations to accept?

The obnoxious blonde toddler he knew could be broken.

Be there for him.

"I'm not good at comforting others," Kakashi mumbled.

"You're talking about the son of a man who never let anything get the better of him. Comforting isn't what he needs."

"What, and I should act like myself?"

Rin smiled. "Exactly. Naruto likes you as you. He calls you 'Cool Scarecrow-nii', you know."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

Rin wheeled towards him and placed a comforting hand on his. "Really. And it won't just benefit him. Remember our bet at the train station?"

If I can't find you a reason to live in one week, then you can kill yourself.

"Your reason to live," she continued, teary-eyed, "is Naruto."

His reason... the one thing that anchored him to this world in favor of his utopia... was him. Kakashi gaped at her, the words stuck in his throat before he coughed them out. "Wait—but you couldn't have known, back then."

"Lucky guess."

"... Lucky guess?"

Rin nodded.

Something bubbled and frothed in his mouth, something strange and unlike him. It was a laugh, startled, and pleased. "Crazy. You must be a crazy reincarnation of some divine being."

"Like an angel?"

"That's pushing it."

Trepidation swept across her face. For a moment, Kakashi thought he'd really insulted her. But Rin shook her head and patiently stared at him. Waiting for an answer. It was a critical moment, Kakashi realized, one that would decide whether he would give in to the whims of Nohara Rin, and the antics of Uchiha Obito, and the brats who had accepted him into their little daycare world.

He had wandered aimlessly for too long. Decided that his time was up, because he had lost that will to live, not for himself but for someone, and all those he'd cared for had left him for their utopia. And he wanted to join them.

While he'd been suffering, there were those dancing in puddles of joy, and he should be envious, he should—but they'd let him dance with them, and the euphoria was more potent than any drug.

Kakashi and Rin were in the lounge watching Naruto watch some kids TV show. The blonde cheered and booed and made all sort of remarks. The similarities were striking, and it was like seeing a whole new boy. It felt like his parents were there in the room with Kakashi, only younger and louder and... alive.

Be there for him.

"So?" Rin prompted, as Naruto laughed at a horrible pun.

"I haven't given up on my utopia," Kakashi answered. Rin's shoulders slumped at that. "But, track repairs are starting tomorrow, so my lucky train's going to be delayed for a fortnight."

He ignored her grin and focused on the little utopia before him. Really, he thinks his decision to stay will be more potent than any rehab.

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DaughteroftheMafia, you genius.

Thank you to those who hoped. Your words will stay with me.

(Sorry E3 for not reviewing, I hope I get the urge to read your wonderful stories. It wouldn't be fair of me to read them out of obligation :) You're a good friend. Again, sorry QnQ)