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Thinking
Biju, etc. speaking
Biju, etc. thinking
Emphasis
"The council will come to order," Hiruzen called out as the shinobi clan heads took their seats.
Kakashi felt the elders' eyes boring into him as he sat down, but he refused to give the old farts any satisfaction. He looked at them lazily, slunk down in his chair, and pulled out his book. Their scowls would be enough for now, but he really needed to talk to his wife before things worsened. Kami, had she made an impression on Danzo! It was a good thing the Hokage all-but-shoved the Warhawk out of his office or he feared his little wife might now be in T&I for attacking an elder. Damn, she's strong for her age.
He had been amazed that Naru only went down for a matter of seconds, surely less than a minute, when Shikaku's brat gave her a really effective nerve pinch - or stab, rather. She'd also managed to get out of the kid's shadows, and they appeared to be quite chakra-dense and effective to him. Maybe I'm giving the Nara brat too much credit… The kid needed to watch out, one way or another, though, because when Naruto-chan opened her eyes, it was obvious she wasn't as focused on attacking Danzo-sama anymore as she was her so-called-brother. He grinned to himself wondering what the little blonde would do to the Nara. Kami forbid that she be like Kushina-nee, although he'd definitely had a few tastes of their very similar mentality. No more nearly-poisonous curry for him, thank you very much.
Kakashi's thoughts moved to the attack upon Naru, and her description of the perpetrators. He never wanted her to put up with an attack like that again: hell, it was illegal for civilians to attack shinobi, but THOSE women were predictable and so resolute… He groaned. To think that my "Fanclub" would get wind of our marriage, relationship - whatever those monsters decided to call it, already. He closed his eye and considered what to do next. No way would he talk to those women and their fake-red-headed demon of a leader: it would only encourage them as it had before. They'd been after him for so many years and he did NOTHING to encourage their pursuit! Minato-sensei had encouraged him to be upfront to any girls like that, but his advice had only worked with Rin-chan, and then he still got smacked in the head by his sensei and his wife for being a "rude brat" when he spoke with her. He had tried being a gentleman in letting them down even five years ago, but that just seemed to make a wider circle of women putting a target on him. Two years later he had been a total asshole to every one of them, and it didn't stop them at all. He sighed heavily.
"...-dono? Hatake-dono!"
"Hmm?" Kakashi heard Asuma snicker softly beside him. Sarutobi has too much fun at my expense... "Did you say something?" Now Asuma was outright laughing. He glared at him, but wondered who had interrupted his thoughts.
"I asked you, Hatake-dono," Danzo scolded, "whether or not you and the jinchuuriki have consummated your marriage!"
Kakashi sat up straight, realizing he really needed to start paying attention - and it also took a great deal of effort to keep from snarling at the asshole. "What business is it of yours, what happens between us?" He asked coolly. He heard the other shinobi sigh or groan and looked back to see the Hokage and Shikaku's particularly pale faces. Not good.
"As you were not paying attention, I shall repeat myself," Danzo replied. "The village charter states that marriages must be consummated, or the council may annul the wrongly-conceived marriage contract. As you obviously have not fulfilled your duties, I vote to annul the contract and union. All who agree…"
"It was less than an hour ago that I reminded you, Danzo-kun: you are NOT the Hokage. Would you care for another reminder? I can assure you that this one will be harsher," Hiruzen warned gravely.
"Like it or not, Hiruzen-kun, you know I am right about the law," Danzo smirked.
"Troublesome. The charter also states that a Clan Head has 60 days in which to fulfill said… duties." The look on Shikaku's face was stoic and bored, but the anger and sadness in his voice were quite obvious.
Kakashi looked up at the Hokage in disbelief. Kami, I've been feeling so guilty for even thinking about touching her. Now, I have to push her to… He felt sick but refused to show it to the non-shinobi morons on the council. The rest of the meeting went by in a blur, and realizing it had ended, he found himself with only Shikaku Nara and the Hokage, who placed his palm on the Hatake's shoulder. The Hokage began to speak, but Kakashi stopped him.
"You can't be serious. I thought… I thought we'd have time!" Kakashi's head was reeling.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun; neither of you deserves this. Obviously, I had not remembered this charter amendment, although Naru's safety," Hiruzen began.
"Her safety? Seriously?! What about her safety from me?!" Please don't make me do this! "Shit: what would sensei say?" he wondered for about the hundredth time.
"I will not force you one way or another Kakashi-kun. But please keep in mind that now that she's a fully-fledged Kunoichi, her path will be much darker if you fail her." The Sandaime sent up an apology to the heavens, to Minato and Kushina. Minato, especially, would be so disappointed in him for allowing this to happen and forcing his only child and as-good-as-son into deciding the outcome of the council's madness. He truly hoped, though, that Kakashi would find a way to endure, particularly as the other choices were an Uchiha that Naruto-chan seemed to despise, or perhaps even worse: a cycle of what could only be called breeding that would no doubt kill the girl. If she doesn't unleash the beast upon us first.
"Had I known all those years ago, Sandaime-sama, I would've set up a contract between my son and Naru-chan," Shikaku said, sighing heavily. Kakashi glared at the man. "Now, though… Well, not only is it too late to force a contract, but those two are siblings - not by blood, but siblings the same: through and through."
Kakashi sunshinned away, after making sure that the Hokage would be the one to tell Naru-chan the demands of the council. His head was pounding and he needed advice.
.
The Memorial Stone: it had been too long since he'd been here. Getting closer to it, Kakashi wondered how to tell his old team and big-sister/mother figure everything or anything. Unable to do it, he sunshinned to the Hokage Memorial to speak privately with Minato-sensei but felt bile rise in his throat. Finally, he walked to the Konoha graveyard, passed the fine-marble, honored shinobi headstones, toward where he knew his father's remains laid. It was quite a long walk, but he used the time to ponder what he should even ask his father, and what he would think of the entire situation. He hadn't been to visit the grave in years and now felt incredible guilt and shame for leaving the man's remains alone for so long. He wondered if, like last time, the grave would be overgrown - like so many others that were supposedly "lacking honor."
Kakashi felt like trash. Even with Obito's words planted firmly in his heart and mind regarding his father's actions, he had allowed the man's grave to linger untouched. He approached the weed-filled area and wished that he had brought flowers, or even some type of gardening tools: anything, really. He stopped before approaching and shook his head. As soon as he reached the gravestone - such as it was - he planned to kneel and beg for forgiveness and then ask for advice. He didn't deserve it, but in Kakashi's heart of hearts, he knew that his father would be there for him. Even though he's gone...
He knelt and approached his father's makeshift grave, only to find that it wasn't there. He searched through the weeds for nearly an hour, before furiously pulling his hair, wondering what happened.
Approaching the Memorial Stone once more, he looked up to see that golden blonde hair… He wanted to escape but faltered when he saw Naru smile so genuinely up at him, and Gods love her: she was carrying a bento. No doubt it was for him. He sighed deeply as she greeted him brightly, before quickly asking what was wrong. What could he say?
"Maa, Naru-chan, I'm…" Kakashi turned away from her, but she was persistent. Hesitant, too, as she eventually asked if she could do anything for him, anything at all. "Ano, I seem to have… lost my father," he said awkwardly.
"You - you're kidding, right?" Naruto asked softly, giving him an incredulous look. He looked back at her flatly. "I - umm, know where his grave is." Seeing his look of either disbelief or apathy she continued. "I - I can't believe they didn't tell you." She turned and headed back toward where he came from, turning around again and beckoning him to follow.
Kakashi sighed deeply and wished that he'd run when he saw her. She obviously didn't know where his father was buried, or that he had committed suicide, thus dishonoring himself with finality in their village - considering she stopped at the shinobi graveyard - for those who were venerated, anyway.
"You may think it's weird or whatever, considering our… relationship," Naru began. Kakashi felt sick, considering what they would either be forced to do by the council - or their "relationship," as it was, would be forced apart. Naru blushed brightly. "The thing is, my dad and yours? They've always been my heroes, ya know?" He frowned at her in disbelief while she stepped forward a few paces. "Aa: here we go, see?!"
Right in front of her, in the manicured shinobi graveyard, was a marble plaque with his father's name on it. He read the inscription following it and blinked back tears. "The White Fang of Konoha" The next line was even more appropriate: "Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum"
Kakashi held both hands up to his mask, suppressing a sob that was just dying to come out. He looked down and swallowed, seeing Naruto on her knees, opening the bento.
"There's plenty here: I'm sure there's enough for both you and your father, ya know?" She was obviously nervous and trying to give him space, Kakashi realized. "I'll, ano - let you both have time together, ne?" She stood up, offered a bow to his father, then looked up toward him without looking him in the eye, as she began to step away.
"Stay," Kakashi said quietly. Naru looked up at him in shock, but closed her big blue eyes and nodded in agreement. He bent down to the headstone. "Father, I'd like you to meet my…" Kakashi began before pausing and letting out an awkward little chuckle. "My wife, Dad."
