Rewind
Aftermath Arc: Kakashi
Chapter 14
(A/N: This chapter will be jumping from Kakashi to Sakura's views. Don't get confused) Ages: Kaka,Saku/ 13, Obi,Rin/14
Kakashi groaned in his half-awake state, when the bright dawn sunlight attacked his sleepy eyes. Rolling away, away from the window, and faced the wall. It was too early for this. Too early, by his standards of course.
…
He sat up suddenly, wide awake, and in his bed. Not couch. But his bed.
What? I thought…
Rubbing his eyes, and threw off his shuriken covers, Kakashi wobbled to the bathroom.
It's too early for this…
Splashing cold water to his face, Kakashi rubbed at Obito's eye, it was itching again. His mind played with the idea of sleepwalking to his bed last night, as he exited the bathroom to pull on his day clothes. Though, Kakashi knew he wasn't one to sleepwalk, or otherwise he'd be already dead on countless missions.
So who dragged my sorry ass to my own bed? Sachiko?
Kakashi stopped in mid-pull of his black pants, both mismatched eyes narrowing dangerously as the events of last night came back to him at a startling speed.
"I don't need anyone pitying me."
"Pity? This is called concerning, Kakashi! Concern for a teammate!"
"But it's not only you who's suffering! Arashi-sensei might not show it, even after Obito and Rin's death, but he cared for them didn't he? You know that, you've been with them longer than I have. Look at Genma, and everybody else in yo-our year! And Rin's mother…" she paused, "And me."
Those wide, emerald eyes that spoke too much of the truth, stared into his mismatched, haunted ones in his mind's eye.
"I let Obito down. I broke our promise…I didn't protect Rin…"
Kakashi finished with his clothing, and tied his hiate-ate around his head, then almost reluctantly, he pulled the left side of the cloth to cover his-no, Obito's Sharingan.
It was never mine to begin with. I should have never accepted that gift.
He wondered how he would face his only teammate today; no doubt she'd probably be unnerved by his unintentional outburst last night.
Every night, since that fateful mission, since Obito's death…since Rin's...it would replay in his dreams over and over again, like a damaged video tape.
Obito would accuse him for robbing his Sharingan. Rin would blame him for not being there when she needed him the most.
Shoving away the dark thoughts, Kakashi desperately ignored the warm, tell-tale feeling in his left eye. Tears would come next if he didn't will himself enough not to cry. Exiting his room, Kakashi found out that Sachiko wasn't in his apartment, and for that, he was quite relieved.
Training…something to occupy my mind with…
Kakashi didn't realize, as he left his apartment, that last night was probably the first, well slept night in many, many months.
"What do you know about it? The guilt? The suffering! Most of my life, I've been overshadowed by my father's mistake, his mistake became mine! Them! Obito and Rin! They're dead because of me!" His breathing became heavy, as if he had ran thousands of miles, " Obito…he died because he pushed me out of the way…if only I had listened to him from the start…and Rin! If I persuaded Arashi-sensei to assign me to her team…she wouldn't be dead! I…"
Sakura sighed, sinking to her feet from mental fatigue. Even though she was training, something she rarely did before, before she was sent into the past, Sakura couldn't feel the exhaustion like before. The gentle wind caressed her face, her hair blowing lightly alone with it. Lying on the grass, facing the slowly brightening sky, Sakura would seem peaceful to another's eyes. But her thoughts weren't.
"They never cared."
They, as in who? She wondered, thoughts in turmoil.
"Sachiko?" Startled, Sakura whipped around to face an emotionless-masked Kakashi, who was kneeling beside her, regarding her with his eye.
"Kakashi!" Sakura muttered, "Startled me there…"
He nodded, grunting in response. They remained in the same position for a while, before Kakashi opened his mouth to speak softly.
"About last night…." He was cut off with Sakura shaking her head.
"Forget it. You weren't exactly…in the right mind, so to speak, last night…" Sakura muttered, looking away from the teen, and edging uncomfortably from the proximity. It was just her luck that Kakashi hasn't mastered the art of reading one's actions.
Yet.
Not in the right mind, eh? Kakashi mentally snorted, it was true, the lack of sleep that had been going on for months had caught up to him, and that dream…
"Kakashi…you promised me…you didn't…keep...Rin-chan…safe…"
Guilt stabbed at him, his heart ached.
I will this time. I won't fail.
A newfound determination shone in his eye, as he stood up and held out a hand to Sachiko, who looked at it questionably.
"Come on, let's keep training?"
The girl smiled, and took his hand.
Throughout the training session, Sakura noticed Kakashi's behavior had somewhat changed. Before Obito's death, he was stiff to everybody on Team Arashi. After, Kakashi had loosened up a bit, and promptly disappeared from her life altogether before Sakura even noticed any changes. (Though she wondered if it was around that time that Kakashi started to pick up Obito's lateness, and lame excuses too.)
Now? He talked. Talked! Rarely did he talk, in any one's presence. It wasn't like Naruto's or Obito's constant ramblings, it was kind of like Sasuke's nature when he talked, it was of utter importance, and the future Kakashi in her time. They talked in between punches and kicks, they talked about the nearest armor shop in the village, (Kakashi had vehemently said that the owner of that particular shop was a hairy, lack of hygiene, bulky man. He avoided that shop at all costs.)
Needless to say, Sakura was rather unnerved. She sure didn't know what to think about this new change, delighted? Uneasy?
"Oomph!" Lost in her thoughts, Sakura found herself wondering why the ground had come up so fast to meet her face.
A shadow blocked the mid-morning sun, casting a silhouette over her. "You're distracted." Came the rather blunt retort.
"Hm, yeah." Sakura muttered, dazed, as she plucked herself off the dirt, and stared in mild fascination at her Sakura-shaped impression in the dirt.
"A rest then?"
"Sure."
Kakashi sat onto a grassy patch next to her, and Sakura vaguely noticed he was sitting closer than before.
What are his intentions! Does he even know what he's doing to us?!
Inner Sakura was peeved. Badly.
Probably not, Kakashi-sensei was never good at socializing, even as an adult. What makes us think that he'll be better in his youth?
"About last night, I want to apologize." Kakashi murmured from beside her, making Sakura jump slightly.
Damn, he has a deep voice.
...He matured pretty fast…I wonder how his voice sounded like before it broke?
The two Sakuras pondered on this, before Inner Sakura cracked up.
Imagine him! Squeaky voice shouting out, 'Chidori!'
An image of a squeaky voiced Kakashi thrusting out his signature move at an enemy, shouting, and failing to even appear frightening popped up in her mind.
Sakura quickly hid her undignified snort as a cough.
"For what?"
"For falling asleep on you."
Ever the tactless one. Tactless!
"Oh." Sakura blinked. "It's…nothing…"
Skeptical, Kakashi didn't continue on badgering her.
It was another moment of silence, before Kakashi slumped his shoulders, and grumbled something incoherently.
Having to lean towards the teen to hear clearly, Sakura asked, "What?"
A pause. "I said…we're teammates, right?" Kakashi asked, quite tentative, which was something Sakura had yet to see or hear.
What a weird question to ask.
"Of course."
"Then…are we friends then?"
Sakura looked up sharply, not quite believing what she heard.
He's asking us whether we're friends or not.
"Well…"Sakura muttered, "I don't really think so…" She completely missed the swift glimpse of disappointment in Kakashi's dark brown eye, as she watched her sandaled feet, "We were always just teammates. Just."
"Ah."
There was another awkward silence, as Sakura rolled what had just been conversed between them in her mind.
Isn't that cute? He's shy!
Please…just shut up.
"Canwebefriendsthen?" It was spoken so fast that Sakura could have sworn Kakashi was trying out a new tongue-twister.
…
Huh?
"Er…what?"
A light rosy hue of red appeared at the tips of Kakashi's mask.
He's…blushing?
Oh god.
"Can…"He seemed to be struggling with his words. "-we be friends?"
Sakura blinked rapidly, as Kakashi looked away, and seemed to find a patch of grass interesting.
The words that left the teen's mouth from last night made reappearance in her mind…
"They never cared."
Does this mean…that he was alone…always alone….since his father's death?
"Well...sure!" Sakura started, somewhat aware that a smile was slowly appearing on Kakashi's face, beneath the black mask.
"Thanks…" He murmured, and it suddenly occurred to Sakura that she well may be the first friend Hatake Kakashi had ever acquired.
This looks like a start of a beautiful friendship!
Shut. Up.
Ever since Kakashi's unique personality making its appearance, it rarely did rear its head after that day. Though, he started to become relaxed in her presence only, gazing at her with lazy eyes, and towards others, he had an air of indifference.
Sakura had consulted with Arashi a few days after that, and she was met with a raise of eyebrows that skyrocketed to his hairline.
"He said that, huh." Arashi murmured, propping up his chin with his hand.
"I don't think you've met this side of Kakashi before, haven't you?" Sakura asked, and the Yondaime nodded.
"Kakashi had always been a stubborn one, a preacher of rules, even before Sakumo-san's death. It was after his death that he clung onto the Shinobi Code with his life."
Sakura slowly took in this new information, tucking it away into a folder in her mind marked as, "Kakashi-sensei,"
"What was he like…before?" Sakura murmured, she hoped the Yondaime wouldn't be mad at her for prying through her teammate's life.
Yondaime seemed to be in a faraway place then, his brilliant sky-blue eyes twinkled, reflective of the past.
"Kakashi looked up to his father, a lot. As an idol of sorts. It was after Sakumo-san's decision on that mission that he started to change. The village declared him as a failure, and it was around that time the starting of the Third Shinobi Wars begun. Some say that it was because of him, that the war started. Soon after Sakumo-san committed seppuku, backstabbed by his teammates, the ones that he saved, the council…the village…his friends…By then, probably the only few people who still remained in contact with him were his own son, the Hokage and his students..."
"What about you?"
Yondaime let out a bark of a laugh, "Me?" his tone sounded bitter. "I was his son's teacher, our relationship was clearly only professional. But…it was hard. Hard watching him fall from his great status of Konoha's famous White Fang…to a depressed, suicidal, hated man."
Sakura remained silent, she had heard stories of the White Fang in her own childhood days, but she never imagined…
"A few years after his father's death, I took up two other students, Obito and Rin. Both had been newly made chuunins at that time, and Kakashi was already an experienced one. Kakashi neglected them, treating Obito badly, and somewhat tolerating Rin's presence…I thought it would do him some good, it wouldn't do if Kakashi started to isolate himself…"
Kakashi sensei…
"Sakura." Yondaime suddenly spoke, "Keep Kakashi close. You're…probably the first real friend that he ever had…"
Emerald eyes widened. "What!"
A rueful smile tugged at the blond Kage's lips, "As a genius child, son of the White Fang, Kakashi had been…neglected since entering the Academy at the tender age of four...I think you would know how it would be like, treated as an inferior just because he was better than all of them."
'Four…four years old…'
Kakashi-sensei…just…what are you exactly?
Of course, after Arashi's rather lengthy explanation, Sakura started to look up to Kakashi, for more that just, 'he's the Copy-Ninja, and he's my sensei!'. For what he was, and for the deaths in his past, how he pulled through even to this day…
And the scarecrow's generation started to notice the two appearing in public together, either at Ichiraku's, or sparring together at the training fields.
And of course, rumors started to spread through the village like wildfire, and soon got everyone wondering, 'just what kind of relationship both of them has?'
"Look at them! They're like glued to the hip!" Kurenai prodded her two teammates, Asuma, and a somewhat reproachful poke to the spandex clad chuunin, Gai. They were sitting in a cozy spot in a coffee shop, watching Kakashi and Sachiko move through the streets outside. The jounin was slouching, looking rather aloof, but had placed a hand to his companion's back, as if guiding her through the crowd.
"Kakashi-san has finally embraced his spring-time of youthfulness!"
Asuma snorted, while Shizune, current apprentice to the Slug Sannin, Tsunade, moved over to Kurenai to gossip, "I haven't seen Kakashi-san like that, even with Rin while they were dating. Is it somehow possible that…they're…" She started to make figurative hand motions, "-an item?"
The ruby eyed kunoichi wrinkled her nose, "Sachiko made a rather lengthy explanation that both of them were only 'friends' days ago.."
"Really.."
"Hm."
Needless to say, the two continued on watching the scene unravel before their very eyes.
"I heard they're living together…"Asume muttered.
"WHAT?!"
For the next few weeks into early September, Sakura frequently visited the Uchiha compound, playing with Itachi, and Sasuke from time to time. It was rather unnerving that Sakura found herself liking the weasel boy. She often wondered what drove him to kill off his whole clan…
Itachi looked up from his ice-cream cone, a small gift after his training with the clan head, bought by Sakura herself. He gave a wide, disarming smile.
Jeeze, Sakura had thought, as Inner Sakura fainted from the overdose of 'chibi-ness'. If Sasuke-kun could see him now…
It was already September, when Sakura learned of her sensei's birthday. It was all an accident, really…Courtesy of the Yondaime…
Kakashi really didn't know what hit him on September fifteenth.
A/N: Gack! 10 pages! I think…Hoped you like Anyway, I've realized that Rewind's timeline is all warped, and until I've finished with this story, I won't go back to revise it. If you find anything wrong in the earlier chapters, please inform me.