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Chapter 6

But home isn't where you land; home is where you launch.

Kakashi had never before this day set foot inside the Konoha Public Library. He had never had the need to. The only thing his big house had in abundance was books. Hatake Sakumo had been an avid reader, had wanted to pass this love and the personal enrichment that came with it to his son. Good chunks of Kakashi's earliest memories included following his father into his expansive reading room on the second floor, and asking questions about anything and everything he set his eyes on. Sakumo was a stern man, but talking about books and talking about them with his son, specifically, always softened his cold, hard edges.

Watching Sakura walk up to the information counter, with open eyes and a bright smile, brought memories of that dichotomy back up to the surface. Kakashi pinched his brows in distaste.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked the bespectacled older man, sitting behind the information counter.

"How can I help, miss?"

"I was just wondering—where is the History section situated? I'm looking for information on the Uchiha clan's history, in particular."

"Ah, you may not get very far with that here," He said, regretfully. "The Uchihas don't store their artifacts here at the Public Library."

"What? Why?"

"The Uchihas have their own way of recording keeping. Tis' always been like that. Are you new to the village by chance?" He asked, with interest.

"Oh yes, I'm visiting my–," Sakura said, grabbing Kakashi's arm. "–my little cousin. Just here for a temporary stay."

Kakashi felt a tic of annoyance at that. She made it sound like he was a toddler. And she kept insisting she was so much older, so much taller than him, but without the heeled ninja sandals that she trotted around in, their height difference was pretty insignificant.

"Very nice. I hope you enjoy your stay, young lady. The History section is in the Basement if you are still interested."

"Thank you," Sakura said, smiling. She respectfully bowed at him before stepping away from the counter.

"Damn it," She cursed as soon as she was out of his earshot. "What do we do now?"

"I already told you what we should do," Kakashi said, raising his shoulders nonchalantly. "But I get the feeling that you don't like me telling you what to do."

"I just wasn't sure if your friend would be willing to help after I sent him flying across the clearing with my knuckles," Sakura admitted, a tinge of guilt in her voice.

"He's not my friend," Kakashi reminded her. "Obito is as easy to forgive as he is to get mad. He will help."

Sakura looked conflicted for a moment. Then, sighing, she conceded, "Fine! But let's go check out the Basement first."

The Basement didn't offer anything they didn't already know. There was a surprising amount of text containing speculative conjectures about the origins of chakra and ninjutsu. They stuck to the books about the founding of Konoha, but left the establishment dragging their feet with disappointment.

"Where to now?" Sakura asked, as they descended down the stairs that served as the most prominent entry and exit points for the library.

Kakashi looked up at the sun, throwing a hand over his face to shield his squinting eyes. The sun was right up over their heads. Obito was either running around stirring up trouble somewhere, or stubbornly practicing his shuriken throw at the clearing. There had never been a third scenario in Kakashi's experience. Since Team Minato was expected to get back into the field in a couple of weeks, Obito was likely practicing right now.

"Follow me," Kakashi said, stepping ahead.

Sakura seemed calmer today. He had found her in the kitchen this morning, chatting with Kushina. She had given him a weird look when he walked in, but been quick to school her face in the next moment. Kakashi hadn't paid it much mind. He was used to people looking at him weirdly, but he wondered now if Kushina had said something to her.

"So what are you growing in your little garden?" Sakura asked, smiling brightly. "I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit of a shock for me to hear that knowing the man that you are in my time."

That was not shocking to him. He only did it at Kushina's behest, and had always planned to drop it the moment she looked the other way. He was secretly hoping that she would become too busy after her wedding to pester him about it. It would be quite nice not to have to worry about whether or not he overwatered his crops.

"What kind of a man am I?" He asked, curious what the future had in store for him.

Sakura had a very unimpressed look on her face. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Okay," Sakura said, as she began counting with her fingers. "You are lazy, perverted, flaky, weird–,"

"That's not possible," He said, confidently. "I am none of those things."

"You're twelve, Kakashi," She said in her usual condescending tone. "You've lived twelve more years and then some, where I come from."

That was a long time, he supposed. Any number of life altering things could have happened for him to become lazy, perverted, flaky, wei–

Perverted though?!

He was writing that one off as an exaggeration on Sakura's part. It was clear she wasn't exactly fond of the man he had become. Who was to say she wasn't embellishing some of these things?

She stared at him. "You don't believe me."

"I believe you on the things that matter," He said, importantly. "But just because you came from the future doesn't mean you can't be a liar."

"Why would I lie about this? What could I possibly have to gain from making things up?"

"Well, for one, that you're able to talk about it at all is suspect. I thought you were not to speak of the future."

Sakura stopped walking abruptly. "Wait a minute," She said, looking at him with a frown. "You're right."

She took a deep breath then, with much conviction, said, "Naruto is disgustingly obsessed with ramen."

Naruto? She had mentioned him that day in the hospital too.

"Ino said I should get rid of my bangs," She carried on, without blinking. "Gai sensei's outfit is hideous."

"I guess some things never change."

She ignored him, and tried to continue, "Minato-san–, ...I didn't even–, ...Madara is a punkass little bitch. He is going t–, ...he is going to–oh, for fuck's sake!"

Sakura raked her hand through her hair, and turned to look at him. "I still can't talk about what happened. I can talk about my friends, it seems, but only when it's not related to—you know what."

"I don't actually," Kakashi started, as he resumed walking. "You could just be lying about me being perverted."

"No, I am not–," Sakura began protesting. "Wait a minute. So you're fine with being called lazy, flaky, and weird?"

He shrugged. Unlikely as those things were, he understood them at the very least. Maybe he would wake up one day and decide it was best to be efficient above all things. Efficient people were often mistaken as being lazy—Nara Shikaku was a prime example.

But perverted? Impossible.

Kakashi had principles.

Before he could explain as much to Sakura, there was a loud wail from the clearing, immediately followed by a large flock of birds noisily scattering, fleeing from the cocoon of thick branches and leaves. They watched the birds dot the clear sky, until the startled fluttering of their wings could be heard no more.

They need not look further for Obito.

"You know, he reminds me of someone," Sakura said, a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips.

Kakashi sighed. "I am sincerely sorry you know that someone."

This kid sure does sigh a lot.

Sakura had a quip ready at the tip of her tongue, but let it go. She didn't have it left in her to be irritated with him after what she had learned from Kushina. He was also housing her, feeding her, showing her around the village, and most importantly, was single-handedly covering her ass in front of the—would be—Yondaime. She had to rein in the temptation to pick at every little thing he did, and let him be his ironic, overdramatic self.

Kakashi led her into the woods, and it was only a short distance of walk before they stepped out into the clearing. Past the open field, there were more trees for as far as her eyes could see.

"There he is," Kakashi said.

Obito was on the ground, laying on his back with all limbs spread out like he was a little starfish.

"Yo!" Kakashi yelled.

Obito raised his neck, the rest of his body still laying prone. Sakura saw him move his visor up his forehead to get a clearer look.

"Oh my god, Kakashi," He blanched, scrambling to get back up on his feet. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but must you really try to enact a second assassination attempt?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn't recall being this over the top when she was twelve. What was up with these kids?

"Pipe down, Obito. She's not going to hurt you," Kakashi said, walking up to Obito. "Not yet anyway."

Obito took a couple of steps back as Sakura approached him. "You're that girl from that day, aren't you?"

Sakura did recall being just as eloquent with words at twelve though. She nodded, smiling. "Yes, my name is Haruno Sakura."

Obito eyed her suspiciously, hands still raised in front of his torso in defense. "I heard."

"Let me begin by saying how sorry I am... Obito," Sakura said, his name still a thorn on her tongue. "I thought—I thought you were someone else."

"Yeah, you should be sorry," Obito responded, vindictively. "I wasn't really hurt, but still. It's not very nice to jump innocent, unsuspecting people like that."

Sakura thought back to the bone that had been almost protruding out of his calf. But as she did earlier with Kakashi, she decided to take the path of least resistance and let weird teenage boys be weird teenage boys.

"You have some really strong bones," She said, injecting an impressed air to her words.

Obito grinned, his hands falling to his hips as his chest puffed up. "Obaasan says I'm big-boned like Okaasan."

Kakashi snorted. "Are you sure she didn't mean bone-headed?"

"You shut up! I've had it with your nonsense, Kakashi! I wasn't even talking to you!" Obito fumed, turning so red Sakura worried he'd start levitating by sheer force of will. "Just wait till I awaken my sharingan. It's game over for you then, idiot!"

"Come find me when that happens."

"I could beat you right now, you know!"

"Go on then. Do it."

"Do you wanna go right now? Do you really wanna go? Is that what you're saying?"

Kakashi crossed his arms in front of his chest, and then with a particularly mean look—mean, even for Kakashi—he coldly said, "Maybe if you weren't such a loser, I'd consider."

"You better shut up right now, Kakashi!"

"I'll shut up when you stop acting stupid all the t—"

"Okayyy," Sakura interjected, physically stepping in between the two boys who had been slowly closing in on each other. "Here's a bright idea! Why don't both of you shut up for a second? How does that sound?"

Try as she might, Sakura couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice. This exchange was far too similar to the countless spats between Naruto and Sasuke that she'd had to sit through. But, unlike back during her Team 7 days, she was not equipped with the endless patience of a young girl with a flaming crush any more.

Honestly, in hindsight, she wished she had told both Naruto and Sasuke to shut up. They had been such self-important morons, acting like the entire world's fate hinged on which one of the two of them was stronger.

As it had turned out, the world's fate did end up hinging on their strength, but that was irrelevant right now.

"He started it!" Obito railed, pointing an accusatory finger at Kakashi.

"Doesn't matter who started it!? My eardrums are displeased all the same!" Sakura shrieked, bunching her fists on her sides. "Now, if you two are done fighting like little children—can we focus on what we came here to do?"

"I'm not a child."

"Who are you calling little!?"

Sakura felt a vein pop on her temple. Her eyebrows started twitching, just as she closed her eyes to regulate her quickly rising temper. The two boys who had just been huffing at her lost their attitude almost immediately.

Or at least Obito did. He cowered, and tried to hide his nervousness with a weak smile. Kakashi just dropped his frown, went back to his usual mask of casual disinterest.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Obito murmured, still nervously smiling. "Why don't you put that fist down now, Sakura-chan?"

Two things hit Sakura at that moment.

First, that she had inadvertently raised a balled up fist as was a reflex for her at times of duress; and second—an unwelcome reminder that all the people who called her Sakura-chan were now dead. All of them, except the two boys standing in front of her. One said it in passing just now, like it came naturally to him. Another hadn't yet used the endearment, but he would when they met again years later. Obito's chaotic mix of sincere, juvenile energy reminded Sakura of Naruto so much. And Kakashi was a dead ringer for—well, Kakashi, of course, but also—Sasuke. For the first time, she felt understanding for why their sensei had always been so attentive to Sasuke unfurl before her eyes. Recognizing someone's pain must be like speaking a language that only the two people involved know, one that neither wants to acknowledge.

Sakura's body moved of its own accord, pulled Obito and Kakashi with each one of her arms into an awkward tangle of a hug. The tears that spilled through her closed eyelids were as much relief as they were unabated, profound sadness.

"Um." Obito fidgeted.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, apprehensively.

The realization that this would be considered extremely odd behavior by the boys did not deter her. She had lost everything. And she was still standing here unfairly robbed, heart bereft in the aftermath. This felt like the first ray of sunshine—one whose warmth doesn't even reach very far—after what seemed like a lifetime of dreariness. She was going to cling to it as if her life depended on it, because it did.

It really did, she thought fervently, as she squeezed them tighter.

Obito sunk a little in response, her arm sliding up to the top of his shoulder blade. "I can tell that you are having a bad day, and I don't want to disrupt your moment, but um, I'm pretty sure you're going to break some bones again if you don't let go right now."

Sakura chuckled heartily, taking a step back. "Again?" She teased, wiping her tears with the heels of her palms. "Sounds like I did some real damage last time."

"Whatever could have given you that impression," Obito mumbled, grumpily. "I was only wailing in pain for, like, five excruciating minutes."

She turned to Kakashi, who suddenly appeared more like her older sensei than the young boy she had met for the first time only a few days ago. It was the look of concern in his eyes. Before he could say anything, she smiled and nodded in reassurance. "I'm fine. You guys just, reminded me of my friends."

"Why are you here anyway?" Obito asked, as if the thought had just struck him.

"She has a mission for you."

Sakura looked at Kakashi questioningly. She thought the plan was to just talk to Obito.

"Oh yeah?" Obito asked, face lit up like a starry night sky. "What is it?"

"She needs your help breaking into the Uchiha records."

"What?!"

Sakura glared at Kakashi, even as she sniffled away the remnants of her tears. That could have been definitely phrased in a more delicate manner.

"I just want to learn about Uchiha Madara. I went to the library but they said all Uchiha artifacts are maintained by the clan, so we were just wondering if you could let us borrow—," She pointedly looked at Kakashi, and continued, "—some of the books from your clan's collection."

"Why are you digging into Madara?" Obito asked, warily. "Who are you? Rin said something wonky about time travel?"

"She's my cousin. She's visiting from far, far away."

"You are lying. She fell from the sky. I was there with you!"

"She miscalculated her teleportation jutsu, that's all."

"You didn't even know who she was!"

"Only because I haven't seen her in a long time."

Obito's cautious eyes rapidly moved between Kakashi and Sakura, as if their lie would physically manifest itself if he stared hard enough. "Okay, then. Why are you snooping into my clan's business?"

"I've always heard about them so much. Your lot is like a myth out there, you know," She gushed, pretending to be a regular enthusiast. Then, she whispered conspiratorially. "Some people don't even believe the sharingan is real. They say it's all hearsay, so I just wanted to see for myself."

"What nonsense!" Obito barked, frowning deeply. The visor still slapped against his forehead comically dipped a little when his eyebrows did the same. "I will show you how legitimate the Uchiha clan and the sharingan are!"

Sakura smiled innocently, like she hadn't just caught him hook, line, sinker.

"That is a terrible idea," Kakashi said, completely unimpressed with his teammate's inane plan for how they were going to break into the secret Uchiha clan meeting place and access the records.

"You got anything better, idiot?" Obito whispered, furiously.

"Why are you whispering, Obito?" Rin asked, in confusion. "There is no one around."

"You can never be too careful." Obito creeped up the balustrade, and sneaked a peek at the two kunoichis passing below the walkway they were standing on.

Kakashi could hear some chatter rising from below. Kushina's boisterous howling was louder, but punctuated by Sakura's weirdly high pitched snorts of laughter, it sounded well-matched. He leaned over the balustrade, resting his elbows on the railing, to get a better look at them. Sakura had a large, wooden armoire—easily three times as big as her—swung over her head. She made it look like it weighed nothing. Kakashi had never encountered anyone with such impressive brute strength. He couldn't help but marvel at her.

The two women walked under the walkway, not sparing a glance in their direction. Kakashi hoped Sakura would be done with moving the last of the furniture soon. Team Minato had helped Kushina wrap up the last of her packing and move the smaller items in the morning. As the day cruised past noon, Kakashi was starting to get hungry. Minato had offered to cook lunch, and though his sensei wasn't a particularly good cook, even the infamous Yellow Flash could not mess up omurice.

"Why does it have to be on the wedding day?" Rin asked, skeptically.

"That's when security is going to be lax around the shrine. The whole village is going to be at the celebration, you know."

Kakashi raised a brow in question. "Why would they decrease security if no one's going to be around? Isn't that more reason to guard the place more heavily?"

"That's not how things work in the Uchiha clan, idiot," Obito hissed. "Only those with sharingan can read the records."

"And do tell, how exactly are you planning to activate your sharingan in three days?" Kakashi snipped back.

"I'll need your help," Obito said, extremely reluctantly.

"Of course, you do." Kakashi shook his head.

"But I can feel it!" Obito exclaimed, excitedly turning to Rin. "My eyes have been twitching for days! It's a sign!"

"Are you sure it isn't just... allergies?" Rin asked, delicately.

Kakashi chortled. Obito glared at him, and proceeded to raise his visor up his forehead and pinch a couple of saline drops into his eyes. "It is not allergies, and you guys will see in a few days."

"Three days."

"Yeah, you'll see in three days."

"We should start making our way to sensei's place," Rin said, looking up at the sun. She grabbed both their wrists and started rallying them off the walkway. "Come on, tell us on the way. What do you need help with, Obito?"

When they reached Minato's house, all the moving pieces seemed to have already been lugged inside. The smell of cooked eggs invaded Kakashi's nostrils as soon as they stepped into the foyer.

"WE ARE HERE!" Obito yelled into the hallway.

"WE'RE IN THE KITCHEN!" Kushina yelled back.

Namikaze Minato was lived in a two-bedroom second floor apartment on a three-storied complex—a modest home for a regular bachelor. Now though, with Kushina's belongings haphazardly scattered throughout the space, it was beginning to look a little tight.

Kakashi heard Sakura's laughter before he stepped into the kitchen. It was an open, airy sound—something light enough that it could be easily carried over from one room to another. Kushina's thunderous laughter soon followed. When the smell of burnt carrots hit his nostrils, Kakashi realized what the two girls had been laughing about.

Minato was standing in front of the sink, shoulders weighing heavy in clear disappointment.

"I thought I put a timer on this thing," He said, shaking his head at the plumes of smoke rising from the sink.

"Aw, darling, it's okay," Kushina assured, her face still lit up in amusement. "There should be some ice cream in the freezer."

"I know," Minato sighed, turning around. He dejectedly eyed his newly arrived students. "But it was going to taste so delicious..."

"It's good you're not teaching us how to bake cakes, huh, sensei?" Obito chided, needing very little prompting to join in on the fun.

"You could always just teach us a new jutsu if you really wanted to do something for us," Kakashi added, with not an ounce of levity. He was never going to miss out on a chance to wrangle cool new tricks out of his sensei.

Rin had walked up to the sink as the boys taunted Minato. She took one look at their sensei's failed attempt of a carrot cake, and winced. "Oh, sensei. It happens to the best of us."

"Stop pouting, Minato. Even Konoha's Yellow Flasher can't be good at everything, you know!" Kushina said fondly, as she walked up to him and took his hands in her own.

Minato's pout was joined by a deep frown. "Flash. It's Konoha's Yellow Flash."

"What did I say?" Kushina asked, innocently.

Sakura burst into another frenzied fit of laughter. "Konoha's Yellow Flasher! Oh my god, I cannot." She bent over the back of the chair she had her arm draped on, laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes.

Obito was soon pumping his fists high in the air, chanting the unfortunate variation of Minato's otherwise extremely cool nickname. Kushina followed suit shamelessly, while Rin patted a disgruntled Minato's arm to soothe the burn. Sakura had a hand over her stomach like she had a cramp, but it decidedly was not strong enough to dampen her vast amusement.

From where Kakashi was standing, the picture this noisy bunch made stirred something in him. No one person here looked like the others. No, because these weren't bonds forged through blood. Yet the joy dancing on each of their faces mirrored one another. A joy so singular that it made them one cohesive unit. Strong alone and stronger together, thicker than any blood.

Later, when nicknames had been clarified and peace made, a chorus of, "Itadakimasu!" echoed through the room. Kakashi gobbled up the omurice stealthily, hiding not just face but also the smile that had settled over his lips.

tbc

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i wish i could say i came up with Konoha's Yellow Flasher, but no, that was queen SilverShine. if you haven't yet, i highly recommend reading the girl from whirlpool. this fic literally changed my life.

if you enjoyed this, please consider leaving your thoughts in a comment. even an emoji or a line of keyboard smashes would make my day!