A/N: The first two are sad, but the third one leads up to something fun I intend to do later.

57.) Stumble

The title of Hokage had been handed on to Uzumaki Naruto months ago. The plan had always been to do so. Most believed it should have happened sooner, but, in reality, it was Naruto who asked for it to wait a few years. He enjoyed the time he had with his family. He enjoyed the freedom Kakashi missed. Now that both his sons were grown he was ready.

Kakashi was almost eager to give away the title and live the rest of his days in retirement at the large house he once called home years ago. Yamato and Suzume welcomed him with open arms. He would have as much peace and quiet as he could stand. On the occasions he wanted company, he could find it. The kids could visit whenever they pleased. He could join Yamato in giving Mai advice about when her mother was pregnant, as Mai was now.

It was around this time that they learned Kakashi had a heart condition.

Decades of fieldwork equaled decades of experience to dream about at night. Many of those dreams were nightmares. With his training and conditioning, he never fully fell asleep, often acted out his dreams to the point of accessing his naturally electrically charged chakra. Doing this often sent shocks into his system instead of out of it. His heart was damaged physically from these episodes.

Three years later, he was walking with Mai and her children on their way home from grocery shopping. It felt like a regular spasm, one that the pills could help. When the pills didn't help, Mai talked him into turning around, going to the hospital. They were within sight when the unbearable pain struck. It hit so hard and fast that he stumbled over his own feet, knocking her and her eldest daughter to the ground with him as he struggled for relief.

Someone saw, ran ahead for help. It was too late already. He was unconscious. Mai couldn't wake him. The doctors couldn't bring him out of it, either.

That afternoon, two hours before sunset, Hatake Kakashi was pronounced dead. He was fifty-eight years old.

58.) Flowers

Thirty was old for a shinobi. Early fifties was a miracle previously only achieved by the greats like Konoha's Sannin, and a few of the Kage. Hatake Kakashi had made it to his mid-fifties. If the kids in school today didn't already think of their Sixth Hokage as a god, they did when they learned how old the man truly was. He had literally put in over fifty-years of service to his home, survived two major wars, one in which he was a general on the front lines, and served to uphold another twenty plus years of peace as their Hokage.

He always protected his friends first, and he had many people he considered friends, even if they didn't know it. He had been tutored by the Fourth Hokage, the student of the great Jiraiya who was a team mate of the Fifth Hokage and co-student of the Third Hokage. He had served the Fourth and Third Hokage as a personal ANBU. He tutored the Fourth Hokage's son, the current Seventh Hokage. He had tutored Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. The rest of the class from that year looked up to him as one of their teachers as well. Even the Kazekage and his siblings held great respect for him. All of the Kage did, but those three actually occasionally called him "sensei" just like their peers in Konoha.

He was preceded in death by Haruno Sakura, Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Kumiko. He had one surviving family member, Haruno Kato.

His extended family encompassed Kato's brother, Haruno Naoki, Kato's sister, Haruno Mai, her daughter, Uzumaki Yukiko, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamato, Uchiha Sasuke. His legacy was taught to him by Uchiha Obito, a man who studied his father's life and thought the White Fang a hero. His legacy to all of the shinobi world was that disobeying your orders made you trash, but leaving your friends behind made you far worse than trash. Work hard, study hard, play hard, love harder.

These were the things placed in Hatake Kakashi's obituary and lectured on at his funeral.

Nobody mentioned Nohara Rin. Nobody mentioned any one of Kakashi's numerous pitfalls such as his tendency to be late all the time. They didn't talk about the fact that his lover was his former student, fourteen years younger, Yamato's wife, or from a civilian family. They didn't bring up the rumor of him being more in-love with Yamato than Sakura, a lie to be sure. Nobody talked about why he was actually taken out of ANBU. It sure wasn't to train the two most dangerous genin he ended up with.

Nobody talked about him like he was just the man. Nobody really thought that part was possible these days.

Yamato thought about these things as he made his rounds through the grave yard, placing flowers in friend's vases by their headstones. He set white flowers in all but two of them. It was Sakura's birthday, so he gave her cherry blossoms and a red rose. He stayed there a while, recalling how she said once that she actually didn't like cherry blossoms at that point. It was redundant for her. He liked them, though.

At Kakashi's grave, he was suddenly at a loss. What to leave for this man?

This was the man who showed him kindness and cooperation despite knowing Yamato was technically at odds with him from the start. This was the man who helped him find a place to belong, people to care for, a life outside the shadows. This was the man who cracked jokes about his use of Mokuton and his familiarity with cats every chance he got. This was the man who slept with his wife and somehow made him feel like it was just fine. This was the man who helped feed, clothe, bathe, change the diapers of, and raise Yamato's children.

This was the only man that, if he had been a woman instead, Yamato could have loved more than he did his wife. What kind of flower could possibly express that relationship accurately? Was there a possible combination that would do it?

In the end, he chose a pink camellia for the fact that he longed for Kakashi to be around again, a multicolored chrysanthemum to emphasize the friendly nature, a yellow Zinnia to say he thought of his impact every day, and a few sweet peas to say he was glad the man got to rest now. Just for the hell of it, he added a few wall nuts as both a personal touch and to call the man crazy. After all, this man really had to be crazy for putting up with Gai's antics and for stepping between people and death on so many occasions. It was a wonder he didn't die protecting someone like that. It was possibly a blessing, too.

59.) Expectations

Years ago, the invitation had been put out there. He knew of these weekly get-togethers at Sakura's place, and he had barely dodged being dragged there multiple times. He preferred spending his Saturday's home with Itachi, reconnecting through learning the truth about their past, going fishing, hiking, sparring, even pulling out his flute to show off a new tune, then listen to Itachi play on his shimasen a while. They were as they should have been years ago, but, Sasuke lamented, it was really, really quiet here at the old home, with nobody around but them.

He hadn't expected to have even this much company when he returned home. He certainly didn't expect to actually get along with his brother enough to live together, let alone actively build a friendly, even loving relationship like this again. It felt good, gave him hope that the bad blood between them was finally over with. There were days, yes, when they couldn't stand to be in one another's presence, but that only happened when they were stuck home for weeks on end with nothing else to do but pester one another out of boredom.

This Saturday morning, however, as Sasuke made strong black tea in one pot, and stronger coffee in another, fully expecting Itachi to be rummaging through cupboards for what they would have for breakfast, he did not expect the words that came out of his brother's mouth.

"I think we should go to the Haruno residence today instead."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke turned around, eyes wide. Did he really just hear that?

"I'm going anyway. It's been a long time since Team Ro was together, and Hatake-senpai mentioned it would be interesting for all of us to see how each other have improved even since the war. Since sparring is something that regularly takes place at their gatherings, we decided to set up a match between us and Team Ko."

"You were on the same team as Hatake Kakashi?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"For a few years, yes," Itachi shrugged. "I also worked with the man you know as Yamato closely. We were often in three and two man teams together as 'Team Ro' while I was in ANBU. Hatake-senpai was the captain."

Sasuke shook his head once, then poured his coffee. For such a large village, he had to be a part of the most interconnected family and team possible, didn't he? Anyone on the outside of his team would be far too confused now ; even he was baffled by the layers of the relationships sometimes.

"Will you be coming?"

"Hm?" Sasuke looked back over his shoulder. He forgot what the original conversation was about now, his stomach complained of hunger, and his head ached with the lack of caffeine in his system, making those the two priorities right at the moment.

"To the Haruno residence. They will have food there already, and I believe your friends would appreciate your visit. I would appreciate your support of Ro during the spar later. I hear there is a betting pool already."

"Who are you against again?"

"Former Team Ko... sort of."

That was an expression Sasuke hadn't heard in a long time from Itachi. "Meaning?

"Aburame Shibi, Akimichi Chouza, and Naruto-kun in place of his father. Aburame-senpai will be leading the team."

"Naruto isn't ANBU. Technically, he's still a genin."

"Does it matter?"

Sasuke smiled a bit. "No."

"You'll come then?"

"Yes."