Welp, another Sunday, another chapter.

I'm halfway done with chapter 100! So theoretically, this time next week, this story will be completed! At that point, in theory, I'll begin releasing two chapters a week until we've finished the story.

Anyways, without further ado, six to go!

Chapter 94: A Weakness of the Heart

Naruto cheered along with the rest of the Leaf's united front as they finished off what seemed to be the very last of the Zetsu. They'd be back almost certainly, unless they decided that the war of attrition they'd started and gave nearly ten thousand of their number for they no longer wanted any part of, but still… for right now, they'd claimed victory. Despite the overall positive attitude spreading throughout their ranks, though…

They knew they'd failed in more than one way.

Their line had been broken, civilians and ninja alike had been killed, the Zetsu had undermined their perimeter, and worst of all…

A piece of the One-Tailed Beast had been taken as well.

Now, from what Naruto understood, Black Zetsu needed only one more piece, until he could revive the 'Ten-Tails', and with it, the mother of the Sage of the Six Paths, Kaguya.

Oxymoronically, the rain had stopped, despite their problems only worsening.

He looked up towards Jiraiya, who, atop Gamaken (Gamabunta having grown too exhausted to continue fighting a few hours prior), towered over the rest of their ranks. His face was pensive, his expression unclear. He was lost in thought; Naruto could tell that even from where he was standing.

What exactly he was puzzled by… he had an idea, but nothing definitive.

He turned back towards the Village, as did many of them. It'd been a day and a half since their reinforcements had arrived, and he was, at this point, borderline required to stay at the front while they were under attack. The Nine-Tails' ability to distinguish between who was and wasn't Zetsu was simply too valuable to not have on standby at all times.

Still, now that they'd held off this wave, he could go back to the Village and get some rest for a while.

Gods knew he needed it.

It was cresting evening as he managed to make it back to the Village gates. Izumo and Kotetsu's temporary replacements (those two were in the hospital recovering from their wounds, which as he'd heard certainly would've been fatal had Sasuke been a minute slower on the scene) waved to him as he entered into the Village and took in the immensity of what the attacks had done to his home, or, well, to the overall vibe of it.

They'd shored up the welcoming area of the Leaf Village into more of a massive barricade than anything. A towering wooden structure, complete with spikes that jutted out of it, was situated just in front of him, though it currently had a massive opening in the middle for anyone to walk to and fro through it. Said hole would stay until they needed to close it, to hold off the Zetsu from assaulting.

Atop it were multiple nests, primarily to allow them to try and hit from above. Even the walls around them, usually manned by a few people every 50 or so meters, were lined with guards.

Every single person who served the Leaf had been recalled to guard the perimeter. Some they were still waiting on, but most had made it back by now. The vast majority were atop the wall or manning one of their four perimeters at the cardinal directions of the village, one in front, one behind atop the canyon, and two at east and west.

They could hold for a while. The question, really, was just how many Zetsu there were. Because, like it or not, their numbers seemed to far exceed that of theirs. The only thing keeping them alive was that each Zetsu seemed far less useful than the average ninja one on one.

But Naruto had seem them pick their formations apart with trickery and with numbers. He'd watched men be pulled into the horde kicking and screaming, still felt the rage he did then in his heart. He remembered how that'd only worsened upon hearing that Gaara had been injured, had a piece of his Tailed Beast rent out of him, sent to the hospital almost immediately upon arriving. He'd make it, but…

He let out a horrid sigh as he leaned against the nearest wall, which he recognized, funnily enough, as the Yamanaka flower shop. He hadn't really intended on coming here at all, so ending up there was…

"Naruto?" Ino spoke as she poked her head out of the doorway. "Oh, hey, good to see you. You uh… you don't look good."

"Exhausted." He commented, giving a lazy smile. "And good to see you too, Ino."

She stepped out, and he noticed that she was still dressed entirely in her Chuunin battle garb.

"I thought you were working the flower shop…" He said, pointing to her 'fashion' choice. "Wait… is your shop open?"

"Well… yeah." Ino laughed sadly. "A surprising amount of people need flowers at the moment, what with the, uhm…"

His brain made the connection.

"The people dying…"

"Yeah." Ino's tone was solemn. "We've decided not to worry about business at the moment. We're giving them out for free, Tsunade said she'd compensate us later, so…"

"That's nice of you." He meant it. "Still… gods I can't imagine that… it must be hard."

"It is hard." Ino admitted, leaning against the wall just beside him, almost mirroring his pose. "But… that's life. It sucks. You… get used to it, kind of."

He laughed.

"What, it's true."

"Yeah, I know it's true. That's… Kind of why I laughed."

Neither of them said a thing for a while. Finally, as the sun began descending in the sky, and the rays of evening crested across his friends shop, he found himself reminiscing. He could remember coming here to discuss the possibility of Gaara having a Tailed Beast with the others, folding bouquets with Ino and everyone else for the longest time.

He smiled at the memory. It was a reminder of what he wanted to get back to doing once this was all over. Just… relaxing for a while.

"Hey, so, kind of an off-topic question, but… you and Tenten?"

He turned his head, his eyes narrowing to slits. "What did you hear…?"

"Uh… what?"

"No… nothing." He spoke, trying to pretend like he'd not said a thing, not tipped the girl off to his darkest moment. "Uh… so what about me and Tenten?"

"Well, I just… uh… it's fine. I don't want to spoil anything."

He felt like he should've grasped what was going on here by now, but for some reason, neither Ino nor Sasuke asking him very similar questions had resulted in anything at all.

Well… It was food for thought, Naruto supposed.

"Okay. Sure."

Just then, an older woman with a teary-eyed face approached the shop, looking desolate, and Ino stepped away, smiling sadly his way. "Sorry, I've uh…"

"Yeah, go." He tried to reassure her. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She said. "Oh, and… Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

Ino gave him an admirable look as she stepped back inside.

"You can lean on any of us. All of us. Don't forget that, okay?"

He found himself shocked as he walked away, trying to process those words.

He'd heard the same from Sasuke, from Sakura and from several others. Honestly, he thought he was leaning on them. Though, well…

Here was different. He was needed on the frontline because of his unique ability. It was different than when he simply didn't trust them with his feelings, it was different because…

Because…

He laughed as he realized Ino was right.

His exhaustion, the way this was all eating at him… he'd not said a thing at all about it. He hadn't gotten any good sleep in two days, he'd been running on fumes for half of that, and even if he weren't still worrying about whether or not he was good enough…

It didn't matter.

He should put his faith in the people around him. Trust in them.

And he knew just who to go and see.

Normally, it'd be Sasuke, but the man was on the opposite shift to him, which meant that, right now, he was likely in the middle of sleeping in preparation for tonight's defense. But…

There was someone who wasn't.

He walked their way, stalked up the steps of their apartment complex, and knocked on the door.

Tenten's mother answered, looking at him in surprise at first, before said expression morphed into a wry smile, as if she had him all figured out somehow.

"Naruto, good to see you." She spoke, swinging the door open. "Come in, come in."

He'd never actually been invited inside before, so that was new. He shook his head, planting his feet a bit as he took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er… I'm fine. I don't want to intrude, and–"

"Nonsense." The woman shook her head, and it was only then that the warm scent of something that smelled of garlic entered into his nostrils. "C'mon, I'm making dinner, and I know for a fact Tenten would love to have you."

Naruto sighed as he stepped forward, smiling a bit awkwardly as he did so.

"Well, uh… thanks for having me, then."

"Hah, knew I'd get you with food." She reached back around, and called in a loud voice back to, presumably, Tenten. "Get dressed and come on out already!"

He heard some grumbling from where he knew Tenten's bedroom was and grinned slightly as a heavily disheveled and overall exhausted looking Tenten stepped out of her room. She took one look at him, looked down at the outfit she had on (which consisted of a t-shirt that looked comfortable, and some sweatpants) and groaned.

"Naturally, you'd show up when I'm dressed like a damned gremlin."

He snorted as she sat across from him at the table.

"Well, dinner should be done in a few minutes, you two just… talk amongst yourselves." Tenten's mother winked their way, causing the girl in question to bury her head in her hands, seemingly embarrassed. "Just forget I'm here!"

"Thank you for nothing, mother…" Tenten sighed. "Uh… hey."

"Hey." He smiled. "It's good to see you."

"Same. But, uh… why are you here exactly?"

He laughed a bit sadly at that, and he watched as the look on Tenten's face shifted from casually conversational to serious in a moment.

"Well… funny thing about that…"

/-/

"West Flank says there's nothing within a five-kilometer mark!"

"East Flank reports the same!"

"North Flank here," Hinata called into the communications device just in front of her, which was attached to the back of a… well… communications expert. "Nothing within five kilometers!"

"South Flank here! We've got Zetsu within five. They're holding their positions, but we could use backup here in case things get messy."

Hinata stepped away, breathing heavily as someone bumped into her, and a good fifteen or so people ran along the wall towards the South Flank. She found herself sighing, the weight of the day's events beginning to weigh heavily on her.

She had just now started her shift of watching over the wall with the Byakugan, a task given to the Hyuga, for, well, none other could do such a thing. It wasn't like they could hold with their Byakugan's sight forever, however, and that meant that she and her family members swapped out every few hours. She had yet to actually do this yet, and it was likely she wouldn't again after this for a good two or three days. They had enough Jonin-Level ninja to not have to rely on someone like her often.

Still, she took pride in the work that she was allowed to do.

She was exhausted, though, and so she found herself sitting against the edge of the little nest that she was stationed inside, taking a bit to catch her breath. The nice thing about the Byakugan was that, even sitting down and looking away from the forest she was supposed to be watching, she was still able to keep track of everything that was going on out there.

"Hey, nice job!"

She looked up to see Fu holding out a drink, and partook of it greedily, guzzling down the liquid and wiping at her mouth afterwards, letting out a refreshed breath as she went back to paying attention to the surrounding areas.

"Hey, so, uh… let me know if I'm distracting you or anything." Fu spoke as she sat down beside her, "But I kind of just… wanted to hang out with you, if that's okay?"

She smiled. "That's completely fine. Just try and not speak too often. I do need to focus."

Fu nodded.

They enjoyed one another's company for a bit as the wind picked up. It was clear that another storm would start within a few hours, at least, she couldn't help thinking that. She'd always preferred sunnier weather, though it wasn't like she entirely hated the dark noise of a good rainstorm.

It wasn't for another hour or so, near the end of her admittedly rather boring shift atop the wall, that Fu actually broke their silence.

"I'm worried."

She looked up with some concern, or, well, her physical gaze met Fu's, even if she was watching all around. "Why? Is everything alright?"

"Well, it's just… that One-Tailed Guy… he got a piece of his Tailed Beast taken away, just like us, right?"

Hinata debated whether or not to confirm that event, but at the end of the day, well, it wasn't like Fu didn't already suspect something was up, so she decided that simply telling her was probably the better option than trying to keep it a secret.

"That's what I've heard, yes."

Fu scootched forward, drawing her knees up and seeming to try and hide within them.

"I… I know that Zetsu guy said he was going to use the pieces to revive the 'Ten-Tailed Beast' or something… and that sounds scary. I…" Her eyebrows drew down, and Hinata could see the vulnerabilities of Fu's character laid to bare as she leaned against Hinata's own body. "I don't want happened in the Waterfall Village to have to happen to anybody else, not ever. It… it was too horrible."

She'd never really thought about it, but… Fu hadn't even gotten to see how her village was doing with reconstruction. It had been taken over by the earth, was under the thumb of the Tsuchikage…

Hinata decided there and then that some things were better left unsaid, at least until later. She didn't need news like that, not with how down she was already.

"And… and it was all my fault." Fu let out after a while, her body shaking as she seemed to try and turtle further.

Hinata's eyes widened as the girl continued speaking. "They came there for me. The entire reason they killed so many people, trampled atop our little Village, spit on our pride… was just so that they could get to me. And… and in the end, all those people who died to protect me… all those people who died simply trying to live their lives as they normally would… they died pointless deaths. I was still captured. They still got that piece of Seven, and… and they're going to use it to try and end the world…"

"Fu, you have to understand that that isn't your f–"

"How is it not my fault!" Fu shouted at her, and she recoiled back. She could tell, immediately, that Fu felt guilty for screaming, for she turned away from her, looking like she was about to cry. "I… I've always hated it… having this damned Tailed Beast inside of me. Why couldn't I have just been normal… why couldn't I have just been… just been like everyone else? Lived a normal life, made friends, gone to dances, and… and not doomed my entire Village for 'strategic value'!"

Hinata could barely open her mouth, let alone speak as she watched Fu begin to silently cry to herself. She reached over and placed her hand on the girls opposite shoulder, pulling her a bit closer.

"You can't blame yourself for something like that, Fu." She spoke, finding she knew more than she would've liked to about similar experiences. "I… for a long time, I blamed myself for the sins of my family. For my cousin, Neji's decline. And… he got better, but… even so, I realized I didn't stop blaming myself just because he stopped blaming me. I never stopped feeling worthless just because my father found some value in me again. You… need to see the value in yourself on your own."

"But I…" Fu whined, gripping her upper arms hard, the skin there becoming paler. "People like Kegon and Yoro… like Shibuki… and even you… They end up hurt just by being around me. I don't want them… I don't want to be the reason anyone gets hurt, ever…"

Hinata could understand that as well. Maybe not to quite the same degree as Fu was feeling it, but as a child, it felt like even when she got near her cousin, Neji, or the others of the branch clan, they ended up hurt.

"I'm sorry… I don't know why I'm being so weak all of a sudden…" Fu sniffled as she wiped at her eyes.

"You don't have to apologize, Fu. We're all a little on edge after everything that's happened. And… I can understand that seeing the Village like it is right now would be bringing back some unpleasant memories."

Fu nodded slowly.

"But… I want you to understand something…" She spoke as she hugged Fu against her. "You're my friend, Fu. I care a lot about you. More than that, you're someone I trust entirely. To have my back when the going gets tough, to watch out for me… and to be there when I'm feeling down. So… I'd like to return the favor if I can."

She ran her hand down Fu's arm, forcing the girl to allow her to lock their fingers together in the middle of their bodies.

"I'm not going to judge you for who you are, just like anyone actually close to you won't. Surely… There are some people from the Waterfall who blame you for what happened… but at the same time, do you really care about what those people have to say? They're likely the same people who've always blamed you for everything the Village has wrong with it. I know they exist here; Naruto has had to deal with them his entire life. So… trust the people you love, okay? And trust in them to love you even despite everything that's going on. You're not hurting us by choosing to stay around… but you'd be hurting us by leaving, by trying to distance yourself to 'protect' us."

Fu opened her mouth, and then, after a second, simply tackled her in a hug. She giggled quietly as she wrapped her own hands around Fu's back.

"Thank you…"

"I'm here for you, Fu, even when everyone else can't be."

"I…" Fu spoke into her collarbone, sounding… nervous. "Hey, uhm… Hinata?"

"What is it?"

"T-There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now. I, uh… I wasn't sure how to say it, but… you told me a while back that if I had something to say, to not hesitate…"

Yes, and it had gotten her into trouble with Fu almost immediately. Still, it had also brought along their blossoming friendship, and…

Yes, their friendship. That was… all…

"So… I…" Fu swallowed, before pulling away, and looking her directly in the eye.

"After this is all over, w-will you come and stay in the Waterfall with me?"

She froze up almost instantly, the question playing on loop within her head as she stared at Fu's wide, hope-filled eyes. She had no idea what it was she wanted to say, she couldn't possibly fathom an answer.

"I…"

And, luckily, or, well, luckily for her, she wouldn't have to.

She caught movement along the edge of their fourth kilometer and focused in on it. When she did, she saw what she'd feared, a group of Zetsu.

She stood immediately, giving a quick apology to Fu, and ran to the nearest communications expert.

"This is North Flank! We have Zetsu, within four kilometers! They must've gotten past our outer perimeter!"

She heard the guards along the wall begin to shift as they responded to her callouts. She found a broiling guilt in her heart gathering as she turned her head, and saw Fu standing alone on the platform she'd just been with her atop of, saw the small, sad look on her face…

And told herself to move. She…

She had a job to do.

Yes…

She wiped at her eyes, trying to ignore the wetness running down her face.

That's why I'm running.

/-/

Kakashi slid into the third stool of the Ichiraku Ramen shop with a put-upon sigh, waving to the folks who manned the stand (Ayame and… Teuchi, was it?) as he ordered his meal. It was a rather simple tsukemen ramen order (which, while not his normal grub, was something he'd been meaning to try for a while) that arrived about four minutes after he ordered it.

He nodded to the twin chefs as he dug in.

His body was so exhausted that the meal, which he was confident would've floored him on any other day, had him feeling… nothing.

He'd just finished his shift alongside the others guarding the South Flank of the Leaf Village, encompassing the Hokage monument and the canyon wall it was carved into. There, they'd held the Zetsu at bay for over fifteen hours the previous day. He'd been out of that shift for about that same amount of time, though the vast majority of that second half of the day or so he'd had to himself had been spent sleeping, so as to hopefully regenerate some of his dwindling chakra reserves.

And now, lacking any better options, here he was. Sitting at a ramen stand, and essentially trying to fuel his screeching body with fast food.

It… well, he'd be lying if he said it wasn't working. Ichiraku may've been cheap, but it certainly didn't taste cheap.

It was as he was finishing off the noodles and taking his first sips of the salty broth within his bowl, that a voice called out to him.

"Ah, Kakashi," The voice sounded both surprised and excited to see him. "Your shift over, too?"

He looked over and saw the towering figure of Jiraiya standing above him. The man smiled his way, but it was clear from the bags hanging under his eyes, and the general sluggishness with which his frame moved, that he was feeling the weight of the days he'd been stuck at the front for as well.

"Master Jiraiya," He nodded his head, showing his respect to one of the Leaf's foremost ninja, and, far more importantly, to the author of his favorite book series. "It's good to see you finally allotted yourself a break. You were out there nearly three days acting as the spearhead of the entire army."

"Ah, well," The man chuckled a bit hesitantly, seemingly unsure if he deserved such praise, or such concern. "Gamabunta and Gamaken both were too tired to continue, so I had no other options, really."

"That's…" He laughed, shaking his head at the man's unyielding attitude. "Rather unsurprising to hear, somehow. Still, what brings you here?"

"Well, ramen, first of all," He turned towards the shop owners. "Ah, my usual, Teuchi." The man behind the counter shot Jiraiya a thumbs-up as he went to work, and the Sannin peered back at him again. "But, secondly, and perhaps most importantly, was you, actually. Well, a talk with you, I suppose."

"Oh…" His eyes must've been rather wide, for Jiraiya's face lit up near instantly, a laugh looking like it needed to have been held back. "Well, I'd be honored."

"Hah, good to hear."

Teuchi (Kakashi was glad, for one, that Jiraiya had confirmed the man's name for him so that he hadn't had to ask) set down a bowl of what looked to be Naruto's exact order in front of Jiraiya, and the man partook of it greedily, going to town on the noodles in a way that was reminiscent of the blonde ball of sunshine as well.

"Sho," He articulated between bites. "You an' I hash–" He swallowed, wiping at his mouth. "You and I have rather similar problems as of late, I find."

"Elaborate?"

"What I mean is… what with Nagato and Konan, and with Obito… we've got people on the other side that we don't want to give up on."

His eyes widened as he processed the man's words and found himself biting down on the inside of his cheek as he shook his head.

"…Maybe for Nagato and Konan, it's different, but I have no intention of 'not giving up on' Obito. He… made his bed. He can lie in for all I care."

Jiraiya gave him a knowing look, like he had him all figured out. "Is that so?"

"It is."

"Huh… well, y'know Kakashi, I was already doing something like this for a good majority of my entire life. Well, it wasn't Nagato and Konan though, it was…"

"Orochimaru." He finished for the man, having heard the story. "That's…"

"Foolhardy? A mistake?" The Sannin laughed. "Trust me, I heard all of that and more from just about every single person I spoke with around that time. I was 'wasting my time', Orochimaru 'wasn't coming back'. And… do you know what hurt the most about that?"

He inclined his head, nonverbally asking.

"I knew they were right." Jiraiya's smile was tiny, filled with a sadness that seemed to have long-since been buried, but still burned away at the surface regardless. "I knew Orochimaru wasn't going to go back to the Leaf Village. I knew he wasn't going to rejoin me and Tsunade to become the Sannin once again. I… I could tell he'd made his decision, already weighed the options in front of him and decided against any of them in favor of himself. But… I still wasted a good decade of my life chasing him around the world. And for what… I certainly don't have a thing to show for it, besides a series of adult novels."

Kakashi couldn't help but think those were a rather worthwhile trade, but he kept quiet.

"I think pretty recently I realized… I don't think he's someone I can save… Orochimaru I mean. Not without him approaching me. If he put the effort in, genuinely wants to change, then maybe, but… at this point, it's too late. I won't chase after him forever, hoping for a miracle."

Kakashi nodded, seeing the sense in the man's explanation.

"But… with those kids, it's different." Jiraiya smiled, and Kakashi could see the nostalgia start to creep about his features as he continued to speak. "They are, in a way, who I raised them to be. Freedom fighters, fighting the good fight. Haha… well, to them, it's the good fight at least. Can't much fault 'em for that."

He said nothing, merely took another swig of the warm broth in front of him.

"And I think that deep down… the reason you're running from how you feel about Obito is because you don't want to admit that one of the reasons you're chasing him is to try and earn penance for yourself."

He shot the man a probing look. "What do you…"

"That girl… Rin, right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Thought so. She was Minato's student, same as you and Obito, so I think I knew your names. Minato told me a few times here and there, after all." He shook his head. "But, enough about that. The reason you're trying to kill Obito, and the reason you're trying to save Obito… They come from the same place, don't they?"

"Do you mean… Rin's death?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"When Rin died at your hand… you blamed yourself for it. I'm guessing that you already had Obito's death on your conscious as well, didn't you?" He said nothing, though, judging from the expression on Jiraiya's face, he needn't have. "So… to hear that Obito was alive was something terrifying, but also… potential. Half of you wanted to kill Obito in order to try and get the last person in the world who blamed you for what happened away from you, to try and hide from the truth, or what you perceived to be the truth. And sure, to defeat the Akatsuki was probably in there too. But the other half… it wanted to redeem itself. It wanted to save Obito, to rescue him from his fate that he'd chosen, to turn him back into the boy you once knew. A weakness of the heart, eating away at you, so to speak."

He looked down at the ground below, trying to feign ignorance. It wasn't working very well, if Jiraiya's quiet laugh was any indication.

"Surely that… I…" He shook his head. "That's all well and good, but at the end of the day, Obito… he's not the kind of person who deserves it… who deserves saving. He's killed so many, hurt so many more, trampled upon pride and spirit… that kind of person… Do they really deserve such a gentle hand?"

"Mm… maybe not. Maybe it's not fair that he survives where those who he killed didn't. but y'know what?"

He turned to the man, his single exposed eye drooping.

"Life is rarely fair." Jiraiya spoke, his arms crossed over his chest. "Sometimes the good die young, and the evil grow old and fat. Sometimes people like Orochimaru succeed, and people like Minato fail. Sometimes a petty burglar will meet his end in the name of 'justice', and the most heinous are given the chance to repent for their crimes. But… Life… It's experienced through one's one perspective… made up of truth's and absolution's unique to you. And to you… no matter what he's done, Obito's still someone you want to save, regardless, right?"

He said nothing. He could say nothing.

"If you want my advice, Kakashi, and hell, I'd understand if you didn't, but… Right now… Sit and think." Jiraiya said as he slid away from the table and placed his feet upon the dirt road below. "Think about what you want to do."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Alright, I'm out," Master Jiraiya spoke, turning towards the kitchen workers. "Teuchi, put it on my tab!"

"Aye!"

Jiraiya stepped away, back into the Leaf Village proper, and leaving Kakashi to fend with his thoughts alone.

Obito… Rin, Minato, Kushina… everyone he'd lost…

He pondered, for a moment, what he'd have done if any of the others had been in Obito's place. If they'd been revived, or, well, hadn't died, and were used for evil. He'd have… he'd have…

Tried to save them, right?

He shook his head, trying to purge his mind of such thoughts.

He checked the clock on the wall just off to his right and saw that his shift was nearly upon him. If that was the case, then…

"Right now… Sit and think. Think about what you want to do."

He should move along. Pay for his meal and get out of here.

He should just get up and forget about Obito. Go back to the battlefield and…

He looked down at the half-finished off broth beneath him and felt a growing want within his heart as he reached down for the bowl and tipped it towards him.

And then he took a terribly large gulp. He swallowed mouthful after mouthful of flavorful, if admittedly lukewarm, broth, until the bowl was entirely empty. Afterwards, he simply sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity, staring at the tiny pools of liquid that still hung at the bottom of his bowl.

"You done with that?"

He looked up into the eyes of Teuchi, who was standing in front of him, an unsure expression on his face.

"I…" Kakashi sighed heavily, weightily, as if his soul was expelling the last little bits of weakness inside of it.

"I'll have another, please."

The two faces working the stall lit up.

"Hah…" Teuchi smiled knowingly, inclining his head steadily up and down as he took the porcelain piece.

"Comin' right up."

End Chapter 94

More on what happened this chapter... next chapter I guess?

That does make sense.

Anyways, see you all then!