lightning–sasu/saku

a/n: this is probably a little confusing, what with it being in kakashi's pov and all. it's just that i want to take a jab at how others look at sasuke & sakura's relationship in this drabble series. you're going to see a theme/vibe/pattern in this particular one, because, again, it's kakashi looking into sasuke & sakura (here it's mostly sasuke). i'll explain it later, now to the fic we go!


It's another day nearing winter, meaning another day damp and cold with chill. Kakashi stands in the periphery of the Third Training Grounds, and walks toward an old monument that has already been neglected by most citizens. There is a new monument now, similar but with new names, that thrives with visitors almost every day after the war. There is one name on the new monument that had been written already on the old one.

He prefers to visit the old one instead of the new monument, in regard to paying respect to that one name. But that's because he much prefers to remember the one name by the old, incomplete memory. He puts the flowers—was a pain to get remembering the season—in front of the stone, and stares down at the one spot he's memorized so well.

There's nothing much to tell now after the war, but he still visits the stone and Konoha Cemetery almost on a daily basis, just for the sake of routine.

"So," he starts, "it's been a while since the war ends."

He chuckles lightly, realizing it's getting harder to talk to the stone nowadays. "We've kind of lost things to talk about, don't we? Someone in the council suggested me as the Rokudaime."

There is a silence, like there always was following his words for the stone. Kakashi is used to it. "I told them to appoint Naruto instead," he says, taking a deep breath, and smiles slightly under his mask, "but the Godaime herself recommends Sakura."

There is a small pang of guilt as a scene flashes upon his vision. It is one that consists of three preteens: a boy whose smile is brighter than his sunshine hair, a sweet girl with unorthodox coral hair looking meek, and last, a disgruntled boy with black hair and black eyes that flash red. Like one of his eyes.

It flashes to another scene where he's facing the black-haired boy, with a crackling lightning the boy wields imperfectly on his hand.

And another, where he watches the sunshine-boy left with the master of his own teacher, and another, where he looks at how the sweet girl follows the Godaime Hokage around the hospital.

Then there's another, a bigger stab of guilt that strikes through his chest, when he remembers the last time he'd seen each one of them: the coral-haired girl—or young woman, it shall be—he hasn't seen her in a long while, and, he sadly thinks, maybe not in the near future. The bright, blue-eyed hero he just recommended as the sixth Hokage, he ate with him two weeks prior.

But the boy with black eyes that he hasn't seen flaring red in a while, he just ate with him two days ago.

"How ironic," Kakashi says out loud, "I think I don't have it in me to be a good teacher, Obito. Not when I always neglect one or more of my pupils. And when I don't, I neglect the other."

He spots someone in his periphery vision, in the center of the Third Training Grounds, and he turns around to see clearer with his visible eye. And then he hears it, the sound he knows so well he can imagine it exactly in his mind.

There's a boy with black hair and not-so-black eyes, a lightning crackling out from one of his arms.

With a last look at the stone, Hatake Kakashi channels chakra to his feet and jumps toward the boy.


Chidori is always one flashy move: for an assassination jutsu, it creates a very loud and distinctive noise. When it hits the target, it creates an even louder sound of lightning strike, with a blindingly bright flash of light. He watches Sasuke wield it around in a katana form, and folds his arms.

"Kakashi," his former pupil says flatly. He never once felt bothered by the lack of formalities and honorifics behind his name as the young Uchiha always said it.

"They don't drain your chakra anymore, do they?" Kakashi says, voice equally flat and devoid of actual interest. It's one of their many similarities that Kakashi had realized: they don't show emotions much in social interactions, even if they do show tons during certain battles.

"Still do," Sasuke says, dropping to the ground. Kakashi watches the red of his eyes dissipates into the black. "Only much less."

As Sasuke runs his hand through his hair, Kakashi notes that he's troubled—it's easy to read Sasuke, once you (mostly females) get past the distractingly good looks and you get past the dark aura looming around. Kakashi is not a mind reader—not even close, but he supposes he could make up his unfairness to Sasuke once.

"Would you humor me a spar?" Sasuke says suddenly, catching him off-guard. On any other day, he'd nod and jump into it right away, but not today.

"No, sorry, I have a mission tomorrow. Should save chakra," Kakashi answers after contemplating for a few moments. Then, feeling that Sasuke might be looking for him intentionally, guilt hits him all over again. "Do you want to tell me something?"

With Sasuke, Kakashi can be his actual blunt self. The Uchiha stiffens, and then nods slowly.

"When," he hesitates, and Kakashi patiently waits for him to continue, "was the last you meet Sakura?"

Now that, he thinks, is new.

"I'm not sure," Kakashi answers honestly, another emotion other than regret (because he has a lot of that, a lot for everyone)—amusement?—starting to settle in, as he stares down at Sasuke shifting around uncomfortably. "Around, say, one—two? Two months ago, I think. That was when I went back from a mission and got injured. If I'm not mistaken, she rarely, if ever, join us in our team meals. So does Naruto, for these last meetings."

Sasuke clicks his tongue impatiently. "She never does," he says, unaware of Kakashi's amusement.

"Yes," he says simply, prompting Sasuke to continue. "She never does."

"Not even once," the raven says again.

"Yes."

There's silence falling in between the two similar but not-quite teacher and former pupil, and what fills the air is only the sound of distant cries of actual birds. Kakashi observes Sasuke quietly, keeping patience as the once-criminal, now-hero (or not quite), stares off to a distance, creases obvious on his forehead as he struggles to find the right words. Kakashi often finds himself feeling somewhat masochistic these days every time he spends time with the last Uchiha—there's always this mixed feeling between sympathy and discomfort that he gets from their many, many similarities. Yet, as much as the Uchiha reminds him of his own self and his own flaws, Kakashi always forces himself to stay with the young man, sharing quiet talks.

Sasuke inhales sharply, and runs a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I met her today," he says, then clears his throat, "Sakura."

"And?"

"I, well," Kakashi is more amused than anything now, seeing Sasuke's uncharacteristic fidgeting, "invited her to our team dinner."

Kakashi raises an eyebrow, but he's hardly surprised and he smiles under his mask. "I wasn't aware that there is."

"There isn't," Sasuke retorts, and eyes Kakashi sharply, "yet."

Chuckling, Kakashi folds his arms and leans over to a familiar post of the Third Training Grounds. "But since you already invited Sakura, it means that there is a team dinner now," he concludes, and then pauses for a while, "and I assume you're inviting me now?"

"No," Sasuke says automatically, catching Kakashi a little off-guard, "I mean—yes. I don't know."

There's an idea that Kakashi is vaguely aware of about where the conversation is going, and he, in fact, likes the idea—though he tries to remain thoughtful, and he wants to hear it straight from Sasuke. "No, you're not inviting me, no, you don't want me to come, or yes, I am invited, but you don't want me to come?" He asks with a barely-there teasing edge to his voice, and chuckles as Sasuke scowls at him. "Have you invited Naruto?"

Sasuke's scowl deepens. "No, I haven't."

Kakashi ponders for a moment, flittingly looking at the darkened sky, all the while trying to observe Sasuke and his clueless subtlety. "So that's how it is. Want to catch dinner and a few drinks, Sasuke?"

"I don't drink," he says sourly, but he walks with him anyways. Kakashi keeps him at the side where his visible eye is, and he notices the dissatisfaction of unsaid things in Sasuke's face. "It's—"

"Don't let the opportunity pass," Kakashi tells him, growing a little impatient. This, the whole vibe of discomfort he's been getting from Sasuke in talking about comradeship—or more, when it's concerning the only kunoichi in both his original and expanded team, he's always believed—is something he can also sympathize with. There's an unspoken thing both he and Naruto are aware of; it is that they know Sasuke feels that Sakura's long act of avoidance is caused by him. Now this, is actually almost a fact, given how obvious the kunoichi is, but Sasuke is not the most sensitive of people—again, another point he can understand, having the trait himself. "Talk to her alone. You and her are, after all, teammates."

Sasuke narrows his eyes at Kakashi before looking away. "Don't you want to meet her?"

"I'm sure that I, Naruto, Sai and Tenzou will have many opportunities to meet and spend time with her in the future," Kakashi shrugs nonchalantly. There's a point implied, and Kakashi senses that Sasuke understands, but with Sasuke Kakashi can always be blunt.

"I think the ones she wants to meet is you, Naruto and the others," Sasuke says dryly. "Not me."

"That's what she says, Sasuke," Kakashi smiles and pats Sasuke's shoulder, "good luck."


author note: ok i owe you an explanation, i know this drabble series isnt about kakashi but i love him can you blame me i think about him a lot a lot. i have this headcanon (it's partly canon tbh) that kakashi is really angsty about his students, particularly sasuke. he blames himself a lot, and he gets guilty easily. like, he's team 7's sensei, but naruto then trains with jiraiya while sakura becomes tsunade's apprentice; while (in my hc) sasuke only considered kakashi as his only mentor figure/he doesn't really form a student-teacher bond with orochimaru. kakashi feels guilty a lot because he thinks he should've taken better care of sasucakes. another one is that kakashi is actually hyper aware of his similarities with sasuke and this adds to his guilt even more

tbh kakashi is my favorite character but i think depressing thoughts about him a lot

next up: NH for NH month! and hope you like this one x