Hey everyone! So I'm the type that doesn't upload on the weekend if I can help it but! I wanted to upload yesterday ... but I forgot and then.. and then! I get sick! (karma man) oh well it's just a sore throat so it's fine and I'm uploading now.
They had gotten to some training field but he hadn't been paying too much attention to because Naruto had just unleashed something similar to a brain bomb,
"I'm from the future"
He should have been mad. He had asked for the truth and the kid was telling him stories but for some reason all he felt was way he talked, reacted, even walked. The things he said, the brokenness in his eyes; It all made sense. There was no way in the child's short life span that he could posses that much depth and maturity and that was saying something because people thought HE was mature. But even Kakashi felt like a child to the shorter male walking beside him. And that's why he wasn't mad.
"You're taking it quite well."
Naruto smirked playfully and Kakashi had to look away before his cheeks burned,
"I believe you"
A delicate chuckle sounded,
"I knew you would"
Kakashi gave a sideways glare, he hated the way that he seemed to read him as if he knew him perfectly,
"And how would you know that twerp? What are you 7?"
He saw the twitch on the blonde eyebrow and wanted to laugh,
"I'm ten right now ya bastard and i'll have you know i was much older in my time!"
Kakashi scoffed,
"Course you were"
Naruto stopped his his tracks and stomped his foot finally acting the age he had come back as,
"I was! i was 27 before i came back here! Older than you so you should be looking up at me! Believe it!"
The fact that Kakashi had to look down did nothing for Naruto's case...but he loved the way Naruto's cheeks reddened.
No… He didn't love it… he couldn't..
"So why did you come back so young? Ah! Was i there? In your future i mean"
Naruto calmed down and continued walking kakashi tagging along,
"Yea, you were there…"
He said the words slow again speaking as if they had multiple meanings,
"In my time you were older,"
"I'm older than you now."
"Shut up. I mean you were a lot older… 14?...15?...around that many years older"
Naruto's stumped face showed how observant he was in the future and it made Kakashi sigh,
"Geez that's a lot"
Kakashi couldn't picture himself that old… and alive..
"Yea..."
And there it was again the slow speech and soft eyes, with a nostalgic smile,
"You were an old man alright."
Kakashi should have felt insulted but somehow the words didn't seem cruel. He had to change the subject…
"So why come back at 10?"
Naruto blinked owlishly as he looked over at him,
"Honestly i have no idea. The time reversal jutsu was not one that had been attempted often there isn't a lot of research on it. Not to mention there wasn't enough preparation to ensure perfection. I was never this girly looking in my time either."
Why Kakashi felt that was a good thing he didn't know,
"I'm assuming that these are just effects of the jutsu being haphazardly done. Why this age? Why this look? I have no idea, it just turned out this way"
Kakashi fell silent he wanted to ask more questions but he wondered if he could. If he had a right to know. Minato had told him nothing because it hadn't concerned him. This was confidential information that usually he would not be privy to.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Naruto stopped walking again and Kakashi stopped as well standing across from him. A gentle breeze blew chasing leaves around carelessly not minding where they fell; And kakashi watched a smile so gentle that it pulled at his heart widen,
"Well cause you asked silly."
It was a touching moment that Kakashi wished to imprint in his brain but had ended too quickly,
"Naruto"
A shadow appeared as the Anbu came out of nowhere. It had been awhile since Kakashi couldn't sense people coming close so the action startled him. The fact that Naruto didn't jump proved he had a ways to go,
"You are being summoned. Come to the Hokage's tower roof immediately"
Then the shadow left. Kakashi wasn't sure if he should say something seeing the thoughtful look in Naruto's eye; but he didn't have to. Naruto looked back at Kakashi with a smile,
"Want to come? I'm sure it will be worth while to see."
He wouldn't normally because it wasn't his place, or business. But Naruto was giving him permission to get close. Telling him it was okay for him to know more and he couldn't hide that he wanted in…
"Yea"
He had expected them to jump over rooftops. He knew for a fact Naruto could but the young blond seemed less willing to hurry. Instead they walked leisurely through the village.
And Kakashi was disgustingly happy.
Naruto was a good few inches shorter then him so he could with ease look down and watch the boy up close and though he tried to tell himself that he was going to regret this later he couldn't help trying to imprint the memory in his brain.
"Did you have a lover?"
Naruto stopped blinking and Kakashi almost choked
WHAT HAD POSSESSED HIM TO ASK THAT?!
admittedly he was curious but he had more class than that didn't he?!
"Well… i wasn't expecting that question"
Kakashi wanted to go dig a hole.
"I mean after everything i told there are PLENTY of other questions to ask"
Dig a hole and die in it.
"Just… Just forget it.."
Kakashi said rubbing the bridge of his mask covered nose. They continued walking in silence for a bit before Naruto's voice sliced through,
"Kinda"
Kakashi knew the meaning of the word instantly. Naruto was responding to his question but… His brow wrinkled, what an ambiguous response.
"How do you KINDA have a lover? Isn't it either yes or no?"
The words came out snippier than he thought and Naruto gave him a deep sideways look that he just couldn't read.
He probably said something wrong with how silent Naruto was; yep he had ruined the moment.
"It…"
The words came out softly and hesitant.
"It could have been love; in another time… maybe"
Again Naruto gave him that unreadable look that made him think that he was testing him to figure it out on his own.
"I told you, we were in a time of war. It's hard to differentiate love and desperation. Maybe it was love but at the time we were all too broken to care."
The words he felt should have been said more sadly; like it hurt, but Naruto said them carelessly and cold
Too broken
What would it take to get to that point?
"Did he..Or she! I meant she!"
And he was tripping over words again, Naruto's patient smile made him seem more childish,
"Ugg… did they at least say they love you?"
Naruto stopped and kakashi thought maybe he finally went too far. But innocent confusion crossed the young boy's face,
"I… I don't remember…"
Now Kakashi was confused how could someone be lovers and not say i love you? Was this why he said 'Kinda'?
"There was no time… no peace… no energy"
"Energy?"
Kakashi repeated completely lost at this point; Naruto smiled. He continued walking Kakashi in tow,
"There was no energy to hope that it could last… at that point we all either lived in the moment or the past…"
"That's pretty ironic"
And it was, for Naruto the time traveler to say that they lived in the past the past he was currently rewriting. Naruto's laughter lightened Kakashi's heart.
"Yea really ironic"
Kakashi was done. He didn't want to bring up something that brought such melancholy to that beautiful blue eye. And luck would have it that they had arrived at the tower.
"By the way Kakashi…"
Kakashi looked over at the whiskered blonde,
"About what you said before…"
Kakashi had said a lot, many things he regret so what did he want to bring up now?
"My lover ya know…"
Kakashi's breath hitched not sure what he would say or how to prepare himself for it. And with Naruto rubbing the of his neck nervously he couldn't help gulping. A blue eye looked at him and he felt he couldn't breath,
"He was a guy"
And then Naruto disappeared leaving Kakashi in utter shock…
Naruto liked men?!
His face bloomed red; he was completely undone.
