A/N: So, school's starting and I'll let you guys know this straight up. I'll try to keep up my weekly updates as consistent as possible, but I'm not promising anything. Things might come late especially since I'm in a sport for the fall season (August to October).
Also, I've already outlined the rest of this story.
If everything goes according to plan...
There will 14 chapters left after this one, or something along the lines of that.
::
"So... Sachiko was that man's daughter? How did you meet her?"
"After, you know, that happened and I killed him, I tried to look for help and I found her. She was waiting for her dad to come home and when I told her he wouldn't be back, I promised her... I promised her that I'd take care of her. But I didn't."
"It's not your fault. She wasn't your responsibility."
"She was. I broke a promise, Kakashi."
"Everyone breaks promises sometimes. One day, she'll understand."
...
"I hope she does."
::
Naruto leaned forward, laying a scrutinizing eye on his sensei for a good few seconds. "So you said you're sorry, right?"
"Yes."
"And she accepted it 100% no joke, right?"
"Yes."
The boy considered the answer. When Sakura showed up for team practice the day after Kakashi started acting weird, he was so excited that he dropped the weapons he was working with to jump into his best friend's arms. She, of course, caught him and held him bridal style as he babbled on about how much he missed her. Sasuke came at a much more casual stride and shoved Naruto's face aside to ask how her mission was and if she was okay.
Kakashi's eye twitched when Naruto crossed his arms and huffed. "I don't believe you."
"I will make you run two hundred laps around the village," he said. The boy's expression suddenly morphed into one of saccharine exuberance—fear dancing at the back of his gaze—and scurried back to where his friends stood.
"It's so awe-awesome that you guys made up, dattebayo!" Naruto stammered. He quickly tried to divert the conversation elsewhere. "So do we have a mission? Huh, sensei? That's why we haven't started training yet, right?!"
Kakashi extended a scroll that Sasuke took, the latter throwing the man a look that too was wary about the sudden disintegration of Sakura's suspension, and it was opened for the three genin to read. "We have been on a mission to run errands for the owner of-"
"Oh! This is gonna be easy!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't notice the miffed glare aimed in his direction for the interruption. "We just gotta do stuff for Mari-san!"
"At Magenta? Why didn't he just ask us to do it for him when we were finished with training?" Sasuke asked.
"Guess he had the funds to spare," Sakura hummed. "It says we have to be there in... fifteen minutes? If we run now, we can make it through our normal way instead of using the main road."
The three of them nodded in unison and closed the scroll. Kakashi watched, silently intrigued, as Naruto took the sleeve of his uniform and began to drag him across the red bridge alongside the other two.
"C'mon! If you don't follow us, you might get lost."
Doubtful, but he followed quietly.
The only reason Kakashi was able to mask his surprise was because of the years he spent as a shinobi, but one of his eyebrows threatened to raise in incredulity when the three brats led him to the entrance of the Akasen. It was hardly busy seeing at it was still morning and the district really only came to life when the sun started to set.
He did read the mission scroll and had the words burned in his mind despite it only being a simple D-rank, but he'd never heard of Magenta or of a person named Mari. He assumed it was somewhere in the civilian district and they needed help with something simple, but here? Why would his team be familiar with a place like this?
Suddenly, they made a hard left and dashed into the nearest alleyway that spanned into various directions, fenced off areas, trash and boxes, and a humid feeling the jounin didn't necessarily appreciate. It was only a few more minutes through Naruto's babbling, Sakura's light responses, and Sasuke's occasional input that they reached a pink building with a currently turned off sign with the name Magenta flowing in smooth cursive.
A transvestite bar.
The Hokage had sent ten year olds on a mission to an adult lounge.
Kakashi kept a critical eye on the establishment as they pushed their way through the rotating doors. "Now," he began. "I—"
"MARI-SAN!" Naruto shouted. The jounin twitched at the second loud and completely unnecessary interruption of the hour. "WE GOT A MISSION TO HELP YOU DO STUFF!"
Sasuke cuffed the back of his head. "Idiot! The whole district heard you!"
"Shut up, stuffy! I wasn't even that loud!"
"My ears are ringing, Naruto."
"Eheh... really, Sakura-chan? Guess I'm just talented, 'ttebayo!"
A blonde man that stood at just about six feet emerged from somewhere behind the bar, wiping his hands on a blue rag and toying with a lit cigarette that hung from the corner of his mouth. His eyes rounded in surprise as he caught Naruto in a hug and greeted the other two by heartily messing up their hair. "So you're the team I got, eh? I can deal. This your sensei?"
Kakashi stepped up and offered his hand. "Hatake Kakashi."
"Mari. Naru-chan's told me 'bout you. Says you're a real stiff," Magenta's owner nodded. Naruto's squawk of betrayal echoed off the sultry interior of the building. "Sasuke-chan's a lil' nicer, but thinks you could take a couple a' shots. And Sakura-chan jus' says she's never met an asshole as big as you. But you ain't that bad- the kids like ya' enough."
It took Kakashi a few moments to digest the insults blatantly slapped in his face.
But only a split second to decide he was going to drown his entire team in the river after they finished the mission.
Sakura popped up from behind Mari. "What's with that expression, Kakashi? You make it look like what we said about you was wrong. Your training regime was enough proof to show that you are, in fact, a major asshole," she said. She laughed at the promise of death written on his face and moved back next to Sasuke when Mari grinned and turned his attention to the three.
"Right, this's how its gonna be. The place's closed t'day 'cause of a fight last night. I've also given ev'ryone else time off ta' cool down, so—I need dishes clean, glasses polished, tables wiped, window's shinin', floors mopped. I got the heavy liftin' covered out front, but someone's gotta take trash duty."
Both Naruto and Sakura touched their noses with their finger. "Not it!" they chorused. Sasuke did a double-take before he scowled.
"I always get trash duty," he muttered. Sakura patted his shoulder.
"If it makes you feel any better, we can all get onigiri after this. You can even have yours with okaka and tomato like always," she said. He grumbled and put out his bottom lip in a sulky pout as he made his way to the back. Naruto grinned.
"I'll get the dishes!" he exclaimed. "What about you, Sakura-chan?"
"Hm... probably the glasses. You know, because some people break them because they're not careful even when I've already told them," she said. Sasuke's snap could be heard from the back.
"Naruto shattered the first one!"
As the other two dispersed to fulfill their duties with surprisingly no complaints, Kakashi raised his eyes to the lax man who watched them go with a parental fondness.
"You said there was heavy lifting to be done out front? Do you need help with that?" he asked. Mari rolled his shoulders and switched the part of his mouth where his cigarette lay.
"Got some broken tables an' chairs, s'well 's some booze and deliv'ries that need ta' be stocked. I'd 'ppreciate the extra hand."
The jounin followed the taller man out the entrance and to the items that needed to be moved about or brought inside. Kakashi took one of the smashed tables handed to him, guiltily thinking that even when he found out more about Sakura, he was still clueless about her, Naruto, and Sasuke as a whole.
"Recyclin's down the street," Mari said as he hefted up a few splintered seats. "Won't take a minute ta' get there an' back."
Those three were too familiar with Magenta to only be passersby, and the owner was obviously someone important to them.
"Excuse me, Mari-san."
Violet eyes slid to him. "Hm?"
"How... is it you know my team so well?"
The Akasen didn't look half bad in the day time, save for the couple of bodies drunk from the night before. Most of the places were closed, but some people were sweeping the front of their establishments and raising a hand in greeting at the two of them as they passed.
Magenta's owner plucked his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Ah, none of 'em told you? I live with Naru-chan and 'ruka, and kinda like Naru-chan's step-dad."
What?
...
Oh.
He heard about Iruka adopting Naruto not too long ago, but he never heard about the other—interestingly careered father figure in the boy's life.
Mari glanced at the other and his muted realization, his lips quirked up in a knowing smile. "Didn't expect that, huh? No one does. 'Specially 'bout me and 'ruka. You know, how a good guy like him would end up with someone who dresses up at night en'ertainin' other men for a livin'," he said. Kakashi impulsively shifted the broken furniture in his arms and raised a denying hand to that statement.
"No, I didn't think—"
He cut himself off with a wince. Yeah. He kind of did.
Mari chuckled and shook his head. "Don' worry too much. Ev'ryone's got the same reaction, I don' mind. All I care 'bout 's 'im and Naru-chan. As long as they're happy, I am."
They dumped the wood scraps in the recycling bin and dusted off their hands before heading back to the bar. Well, there was nothing bad to say about that. Naruto always looked happy and loved his friends to death, and at least he had a family to go home to when they weren't around.
"But... it wasn't always like this. I met 'ruka a couple a' years back, but I've known Naru-chan since he was four or five. When he was kicked outta the orph'nage and none other social serv'ces would pick 'im up," Mari informed quietly, his mood subduing. "Found 'im in the alley by the bar—cryin', bleedin', hungry. Thought I was gonna beat 'im up and started cryin' some more."
A lump formed in Kakashi's throat. Of course, how could he forget something like that? Naruto was practically the most hated person in the village because of the fox inside him. An innocent boy. His sensei's son. And he was too selfish and close-minded to do a damn thing about it.
"I knew who he was. Who didn't? I could see how the people would look at 'im as they passed. So I jus' brought 'im to the back patched 'im up a bit, gave 'im somethin' ta' eat, and told 'im he could stay in the break room. He was gone by late mornin'."
The two of them finally returned to Magenta's front, but Mari moved down the side of the building and motioned for Kakashi to follow. The back of the bar didn't look like much, but there was a steel staircase that wrapped around and led to the third floor. At the top was a room that looked somewhat livable.
"It took some time, but Naru-chan learned I wasn't gonna hurt 'im and he came by a lot," he continued. "When I found he had no place to go, I let 'im stay 'ere for free. Well, not really. I had 'im run errands for me a couple days a week, but he was fine ta' stay in the bar 'til it opened and me and the guys made sure he had food ta' eat."
That guilty feeling came back and wrapped around Kakashi like a poisoned coil. A little boy had no business to be in a place like this. And since he was five years old? The orphanage who kicked him out should be punished for shoving him onto the streets like that. But Kakashi knew he had no right.
He wasn't any better.
"He wasn't beaten up too much after that, but some bastards found where he lived and vand'lized the damn place one day. But I took care a' those idiots real quick," Mari said as he cracked his knuckles. "Pretty soon, he met Sakura-chan, then Sasuke-chan. They're good to 'im, help around sometimes, so I didn't have to worry much 'bout 'im anymore. Then 'ruka came and the rest's history." He blew out three perfect circles of smoke before turning to face the other man. "Sensei, you'll take care a' 'im, won't ya?"
Kakashi felt a new resolve build up within him.
Sure, he wasn't any better.
"Of course," he answered, cool and aloof like he always was. The blonde man smiled and walked back down the alley towards the front to finish cleaning up.
"Good. 'Cause I woulda clocked ya' if ya' said otherwise."
Kakashi stared up at the small, empty apartment for a little while longer before following after.
But he was going to be better.
::
Normally, missions like these didn't take too long to do. Team Kakashi would finish up at quickly as possible to get the job done over with because of how mundane or irritating the work was. But at Magenta, they all took their time in completing their chores-laughing, joking around, and casually speaking with Mari. He even treated them to onigiri (to which Sasuke would never admit he was ecstatic about).
And normally, if they took too long, Kakashi would do something to make them complete the mission faster or threaten them with more training if they didn't pick up the pace. But this time, something was different. he let them have all their fun as he sat at the bar with his book open and a plate of half eaten onigiri beside him.
Naruto openly gaped at his teacher's sudden change in attitude.
"Wow, Kakashi-sensei," he said. He hopped on the stool to the man's right. Sasuke and Sakura were somewhere in the storage room debating produce placement, and Mari had gone to get some things in the supply room. "You're not mean today. Well, you were this morning, but you're not telling us to do stuff now and you're not giving us a speech 'bout how shinobi should do missions efficiently!"
Kakashi was surprised that he'd actually listened to those. "Do you want me to give you a speech?"
"Er, no... but, I like it better when you're like this. Then I don't have to be scared of you anymore," Naruto grinned.
Huh.
He really must've been a dickhead this whole time.
Kakashi looked back to his book and flipped a page.
"Hm. I'll keep that in mind," he hummed. As the boy spun around in his seat and made to slide off, a fingerless-gloved hand reached over and gave a single pat to the head of golden hair. Naruto gazed up at his sensei—the sensei who'd shown no remorse on the training grounds, who never showed any indication of liking them, who suspended Sakura-chan—with shock. The only people who'd pat him like that was old man Hokage and Iruka.
That shock was soon replaced with something starry, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Naruto jumped off the seat and threw himself to the lounge kitchen. "SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE!" he yelled. "KAKASHI-SENSEI'S A TSUNDERE! A JERK WITH A HEART OF GOLD! HE REALLY DOES LOVE US, DATTEBAYO!"
Kakashi stalked after Naruto to completely deny that accusation where he found Sakura clutching her stomach and laughing until tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. Sasuke looked absolutely appalled at the notion and was physically repelled at the thought of his sensei being anything other than a torturous asshole.
The jounin let loose some of his killing intent and promised their deaths by making them avoid projectiles being launched at them while being neck-deep in water, merely causing Sasuke to argue that Kakashi could never be that nice and Sakura only laughed harder.
He hated them. He hated them so much.
It was around six in the evening when they finished the mission, and Mari thought it would be best if they all got out of the Akasen before most of the district's population started flooding in.
"It was nice to meet you, Mari-san," Kakashi bid as he and his team were about to leave. Mari took the extended hand and blew aside a cloud of smoke, a small twinkle in his eye.
"Come back anytime, Tsundere-sensei."
::
Being the kind and generous sensei he was, he decided to walk his genin home despite their horrible misreading of his personality. Naruto's house was the closest, Sasuke's was the farthest being at the very outskirts of Konoha, and Sakura... he wasn't too sure where she lived. He must've skimmed over her address while reading her file.
"Ne, since it's our off day tomorrow, wanna go for team breakfast?" Naruto asked as he bounced alongside his friends.
"I don't mind," Sasuke replied with a shrug. Sakura cocked her head and squinted at the sky.
"We can do it at my place. We just got groceries yesterday and no one'll be home, so you guys can stay as long as you want. Here, let me just write down the address so you don't get lost," she said. Kakashi noticed Sasuke flinch at the word 'home' and felt a bit curious as the boy raised his hand and tugged on Sakura's sleeve.
"Hey... can I stay over again?" he murmured. She eyed him with concern and slung an arm over his shoulders.
"Sure."
Naruto appeared worried as well, but pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Sasuke, is there something going on that I should be informed of?" Kakashi questioned. The Uchiha quickly shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"No, not really."
Kakashi met Sakura's gaze and she signed to him in standard chuunin code.
Not my story to tell. Sorry.
Ah. Family troubles, probably. Sakura easily diverted the uneasy mood by turning to walk backwards while facing her sensei. "So, Kakashi, this is a team breakfast. That means you're coming too, right?"
"Yeah, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "It'll be super cool, I promise. Remember when we made you dinner that one time? This breakfast is gonna be even better than that!"
He told him he would think about it, and that they shouldn't count on him dropping by. But Sakura gave him the paper with her address anyways, telling him to be there by nine if he wanted omelettes, bacon, sausages, and strawberries upon strawberries upon strawberries on fried toast. Or he could come even earlier than that and help with making breakfast.
::
He really shouldn't have been surprised that after dropping off the kids and taking to his own apartment, he woke up, stared at the address in his hands, and left his apartment a little before eight.
His team deserved that much, didn't they? For him to finally be there as a mentor and help them be brought up to the greatness he was sure was inside each and every one of them that the world needed to see. For Naruto, he would finally get the love and recognition he deserved from the people. For Sakura, she would finally let go of everything that broke her down over the years and use the pieces to build herself up again. For Sasuke- he didn't quite know yet. But he'd find out soon. He could feel it.
"H-Hey! Kakashi! Wait up!"
Obito jogged up to his friend's side and placed a hand on his shoulder for support as he caught his breath. It had been a while since the two had seen each other with Kakashi wrapped up with his teaching duties and Obito with his own fair share of missions and clan obligations.
"Hm?"
The Uchiha looked up, worriedly, as his voice took up a slightly desperate tone.
"You saw Sasuke yesterday? He showed up for training or something?" he asked. When Kakashi nodded, Obito took another step forward. "Then you know where he is, right?! He hasn't been home for the past few days and we're all getting really worried. Like, we thought it was okay for him to be away for a little bit to let off some steam after what happened a few days ago, but he hasn't talked to anyone and no one's seen him so do you know where he is now?!"
Kakashi made a split second decision and slowly shook his head. "No... we had a D-rank and parted ways immediately after. I don't know where he went," he lied, "but he was acting off near the end of the day. What happened?"
Obito's eyebrows furrowed in indecisiveness, but it was only a matter of time before he caved and spilled everything.
Obito, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, and two of their other cousins had gone to a nearby store to stock up on bandages, new shinobi sandals, and weapon polish. The cousins, Obito, and Shisui were happy to not let any silence reign over them as they talked about this and that, occasionally 'appreciating' women that passed them.
"Nine out of ten," a cousin with brown hair muttered as a young woman strutted passed their group.
"What? She's more of a six," the dark grey-haired one scoffed. "Look at her. She's probably a bitch under all that makeup and fake nails."
Obito saw Sasuke twitch in irritation, but the boy kept silent as he trailed behind his brother with his arms crossed firmly across his chest. Ever since the incident with one of the boy's eyes awakening the Mangekyou, they'd kept an even closer watch on him to make sure nothing would trigger his other eye to form, or for him to even use the eye he already had.
Anger was a common cause to unleash its power and it seemed like his cousins weren't helping the situation one bit.
Soon enough, their attention moved to another person across the street. At first, they thought she was another one of the many young women that populated Konoha, but their smug smiles turned into disgusted scowls when they realized it wasn't even a woman at all, but a man wearing a deep purple dress with long brown hair tied up in a messy bun.
"Ugh, who does he think he's fooling? That's just... wrong."
"Can't believe he doesn't know what an embarrassment he's making of himself."
Obito watched the person across the street flinch and thumb the sleeve of their dress, obviously hearing his cousins' hurtful words, and suppressed a cringe. His family didn't have to be so callous and insensitive all the time, a little respect could—
Sasuke broke away from the group and strode across the street to where the person was standing. Itachi tensed immediately and Shisui made a move to grab his younger cousin's shoulders, but he was too late and the rest of the Uchiha watched his next move.
"Pardon me," he called. The stranger turned, their hand held close to their chest as they warily observed the boy.
"Y-Yes?" they stammered, bracing themselves for another insult or sneer at their appearance.
"You look really nice in that dress," Sasuke told them honestly. "It doesn't matter what anyone says. I think you should keep wearing them."
Obito's jaw dropped, and he was sure everyone else's expression wasn't far behind. The stranger was startled for a moment before a small, genuine smile crossed their face.
"Thank you, you're very sweet," they said. Sasuke bid them to have a good rest of the day and walked back to his family. He was clearly unrepentant and had a look on his face that challenged any one of them to tell him what he'd done was wrong. His brown-haired cousin was quick to regain his bearings and take him up on it.
"What did you do that for?!"
"I thought they looked nice. So I told them they looked nice," Sasuke said. "Something wrong with being decent?"
Itachi's eyes widened, and their grey-haired cousin scowled. "Decent? That was a faggot who should be ashamed of himself, he doesn't need decency."
A fist smashed into the cousin's face, the assaulter's left eye spinning with two tomoe and his right flashing with a six-pointed pinwheel.
"Otouto!"
"Even if you're shallow and close-minded it doesn't mean you should ridicule people just because they're different from you!" Sasuke snarled. "And being a complete jackass from a noble clan isn't an excuse for it!"
"... then he just ran off before we could say anything to him. Mikoto-baa and Fugaku-sama are worried and... it just wasn't like him to do something like that, you know? I mean, I'm not against what he did or anything and I thought it was good on him, but... are you sure you haven't seen him?"
Kakashi shook his head again. "Sorry."
Obito scratched his head and sighed. "Alright. Anyway, if you see him, tell him we want him to come home, okay? Thanks. I'll see you around!"
Kakashi continued on his way as his friend left to keep looking for his cousin. He supposed he could credit Sasuke's actions to Sakura's and Naruto's influence over the years they've known each other. What he never imagined was that influence to reach so deep into an Uchiha—one of the most straight-laced and traditional people right behind the Hyuuga—that he attacked a family member for the sake of a complete stranger.
Maybe it wasn't just his cousins' rudeness that set him off. He had too cool of a head for that. Perhaps something else was going on he had yet to discover...?
He re-checked the address in his hands and approached the one-story house inside one of the many shinobi residential districts and knocked.
The door opened a few seconds later.
"Holy shit! You really came, Kakashi!" the pink-haired tyrant exclaimed. She looked over her shoulder. "Oi, Sasuke! Guess who owes Naruto and I crepes!"
"He showed?!"
"Ha! And he's early too, 'ttebayo!"
"I told you he would!" she shouted. She fixed herself forward and smiled her typical, cheeky smile. "Come on, Kakashi. You can help make the omelettes."
The house looked as homey as he thought it would. There were plants on the window sills, the coffee table was cluttered with journals, papers, and ink, and there was a full bookcase against one of the walls. In the kitchen, Sasuke and Naruto sat at the island counter mixing together their omelettes.
"Hey, sensei! Tell Sasuke mushrooms are gross!"
"Your face is gross but you don't see me complaining about it, dobe."
Kakashi felt the corners of his mouth inch its way up, but he pressed his lips together and brought himself to the frame mounted on the wall parallel to the side of the counter. There wasn't even a picture inside, just a document- a poisons permit- signed by the Hokage.
The small label on the frame had the words 'NAG ME NOW' engraved in a bubbly font.
... No. He wasn't even going to ask about that.
"Kakashi, come over here and make the omelette you want. I even have eggplant," Sakura said, gesturing him over. "Hm, Naruto, you finished mixing yours? Want to start frying the bacon?"
"Yeah! But lemme pee first. The bathroom's... third door on the left?"
"Second. The third one's the old man's room and you definitely don't want to get caught in there," she replied. "And—ah, dammit. Hold on, guys, I have to get something from my room. Won't be a minute."
Luck must've been on Kakashi's side that bright morning, because both Naruto and Sakura disappeared down the hall and left him with the quieter but just as troubled student of his team. Sasuke silently mixed his omelette batter of tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach as the jounin started to speak.
"I ran into Obito on my way here."
The boy stopped mixing.
"He asked me where you were because you hadn't been home for the past few days after telling me about the small incident," Kakashi informed. Pitch black eyes slid over.
"Did you say where I've been?"
"I didn't feel the need to. It wasn't just what happened with your cousins, was it? Whatever the real reason, you should be able to work it out before returning to your family on your own volition. Next time, tell me if you're to do something like this. I need to make sure you're safe, too."
Sasuke frowned at that. "You never cared before," he said. Kakashi winced. "So why is it so important now? I didn't think anything about me- us- mattered to you except making sure we make it to chuunin so we didn't have to be your team anymore."
There was no fault in his words. When Kakashi first received the assignment, he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. Dan gave him genin to remove him from ANBU and try to improve his mental health, but he didn't believe in that. He never believed that he could ever help himself from everything he lived through.
But when Sakura had that panic attack that day, sobbing and screaming about how it was okay if she was the only one who hurt if that meant making everyone else happy, something in him clicked. These brats were never just brats.
These genin, these kids, had suffered. All of them. Naruto and the demon, Sakura and the past, Sasuke and the clan. But even through their suffering, they made an effort to come together and reach out to him. They made him smile and think and realize that there was more to the world than chasing ghosts and believing he could never make up for what he failed to do.
They were his second chance and he was too blind to realize that before. "You're right. I didn't care before, and I'm sorry."
Sasuke blinked in surprise.
"But," Kakashi continued. "I want to change that. You three deserve a teacher who cares and who makes sure you can be the best you are, and I'm going to try to be that person. It's the very least I can do to make up for what I didn't."
It was a few seconds before the boy grunted and started adding cheese to his batter. Naruto burst into the kitchen yelling about cooking bacon- yes he did declare he washed his hands because he knew at least Sasuke was doubting him- and started the stove. Sakura came in a couple minutes after that with an impressive stack of manila folders that she dropped onto the couch.
"There! So, can one of you get the glasses out?" she asked distractedly, hastily checking the papers in each folder. Kakashi, the normal shinobi he was, stood from his seat and approached the overhead cabinets because that was an obvious place to look for any dishware because really, what else could be there?
When he grasped the handle of the fourth cabinet from the right, she realized her mistake. "No wait!"
Kakashi pulled open the cabinet.
And Naruto shrieked. "ARE THOSE EYEBALLS?!"
Kakashi didn't know if he should be surprised. Every single cabinet that wasn't attached to the island had questionable liquids, plants, live specimens (the spiders were a little disconcerting) and animal parts that he knew shouldn't be taken care of by a genin. Even after her sheepish explanation of her upcoming poison collection, mithridatism, and permit story, both Naruto and Sasuke sat her down and chastised her for doing such dangerous work without them knowing, so Kakashi felt that her spectrum of eccentricity had widened by a lot.
When they finally sat down to eat their breakfast, that spectrum only grew when the back door slid open and Shiranui Genma stepped through, senbon, lazy grin, and all.
"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Hatake. Mornin'," he greeted. "Aw, what's this? Decided to have breakfast without me?"
"Team breakfast. Emphasis on team. But we do have extra batter if you want to make yourself an omelette," Sakura said. Genma slunk over to lean against her seat and pluck a strip of bacon from her plate.
"Nah, I'm just on a run. You got my paperwork?"
"On the couch."
"Thanks, kid. You're a real lifesaver."
He scooped up the folders and made his way out. Sakura cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "You're welcome!"
"Thank you!"
So she was already doing sensitive T&I work. Good to know. But at least in his team's distraction, he'd finished his food and slipped his mask back over his face like he hadn't moved it in the first place.
::
It was around ten when they parted ways. Naruto promised he'd help Chouji out with a few things, Sakura said she'd help out an artist friend of hers, and Sasuke... wasn't sure where he'd go for the rest of the day. It's not like he had any place he wanted to be, and Kakashi was sharp enough to see that.
"Sasuke, I'm going to check for future missions. You should come with me to see how the process goes so you'll know when you start going on solos."
He was taken aback at the invitation, but ended up shrugging his shoulders and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Okay."
Sasuke silently walked beside his teacher as they made their way to the missions office, just as Kakashi expected. Shinobi of the Uchiha clan typically had the same attitudes- quiet most of the time and only speaking if they needed to. He'd worked with the boy's older brother, Itachi, a fair share of times to know what to expect.
"... You were right, you know."
Kakashi glanced down beside him.
"About me not being at the compound for the past few days," Sasuke clarified, shifting uncomfortably. "It wasn't just my cousins' fault. What they were doing was wrong, but I was already angry because I didn't like being at home anymore." He unconsciously reached up to feel around his right eye. "I... they—"
"Otouto."
Sasuke froze at the familiar, silk voice that approached the two of them from behind. Itachi, with a face uncharacteristically etched in both relief and worry, stopped just a few feet away from the pair.
"Kakashi-senpai, can you please excuse us for a few moments? I would li—"
"Why?" Sasuke seethed. Itachi flinched and Kakashi's eyes widened at the show of such animosity. "What, I'm too much of a taboo topic to talk about in front of people? Tell Kakashi-sensei what you're all doing and why you think I shouldn't be left alone."
The jounin's stare flickered between the two siblings warily. He'd never seen Sasuke so angry with either his friends or family, and witnessing the scene the two were making made him feel like an intruder.
"Please don't be unreasonable, otouto," the elder Uchiha tried. But he was cut off a second time.
"Unreasonable?! What's unreasonable is that I can't be in my own home without everyone tiptoeing around me like I'm going to explode at any second! Ever since I got that Mangekyou, you, tou-sama, kaa-san, Shisui, Obito—everyone is treating me like I can't take care of myself anymore! You don't think I know why? I heard you! I heard all of you! You all think I'm going to fall into the Curse of Hatred just like Madara did and none of you were going to tell me what I could grow up to be!"
Shame quickly powdered Itachi's face and he said nothing in return, only reinforcing the words that hammered straight through his heart.
Kakashi stepped in before things could get even worse.
"I know very well I am in no position to make suggestions, but perhaps some more distance could help rectify your... disagreement," he said. "I was planning to inform all legal guardians of this team's status when training resumed tomorrow, but you can take this back to Fugaku-sama." He cleared his throat. "I have nominated Team Seven to participate in this year's Chuunin Exams. Their training for the next two weeks will be review of what has been taught that they will be heavily focused on, and we will leave for Iwagakure at the end of those two weeks. Maybe then you could talk about your matters, but until then, Sasuke can stay with me so conflict can be avoided for the time being."
Itachi's eyebrows furrowed. Sasuke stared at his teacher in sheer bewilderment. Kakashi stayed as impassive as ever.
"Senpai..." Itachi took a deep breath. "... I understand. I will inform tou-sama of the situation."
He took one last look at his beloved little brother—who refused to meet his gaze—before flickering away, hurt undulating in his eyes. Kakashi gently grasped his student's shoulder and led him back down the road. It certainly wasn't in his plans to let Sasuke stay over at his apartment until they left for Iwa, but after hearing the real reason why the boy didn't want to go home, it shocked him into action.
Madara was a disaster. Being even remotely compared to a person like that, especially if a child was on the receiving end of the comparison, was damaging to the psyche.
Sasuke was one of the last people to have that weighing him down.
"... Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi hummed. "It's no issue."
And, strangely, he found it really wasn't.
::
Sakura leaned against the side of the Hokage building, scanning through the recommendation letter in her hands. The Chuunin Exam nominations she was expecting, and it was a convenient time to finally meet with Deidara and deliver his brand new double kodachi. She'd probably pass and rank up no problem, but that wasn't her main concern.
Iwa wasn't exactly on the friendliest terms with Konoha and they were home to the shinobi who earned Kakashi's scorn for life.
Maybe she had to ask Sasori for back up on this one too. Just in case.
She folded the letter and tucked it away in her pocket when a shadow extended in front of her. She was unperturbed.
"Councilman," Sakura greeted blandly. "To what do I owe you this visit?"
Danzo observed her for a moment. "You speak to me so carelessly like I've done you no wrong," he said. "But you know what I've done, don't you, child? I expected a certain hatred about you or a burning need for revenge. Would you elaborate?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh? Then make me make it clearer." He set both hands atop his cane and leaned forward, carefully blank and carefully sinister. "Why do you not wish to kill me even when I'm the reason there is only one Haruno instead of three?"
::
EDITED 2.12.18
