[Present | Past ]
[ "Dialogue" | "Internal Dialogue" |"Internal Biju Dialogue"]
[ December ]
{ A + 29 }
"How long has he been like this?" Steeling himself, Kakashi sat upright on his bed.
"Since he got back. About a week." Shock and pain flickered across his friend's features in a blink of an eye. Obito crossed his arms and popped his neck with a set frown across his lips.
"He's been back a week?! What the hell." He harshly whispered to himself. "That doesn't add up. Hey, you're five right?"
"What are you, stupid?" Obito paid his retort no mind, nor did he bother to even look at him. Kakashi knew that this was his chance to get to know this side of the Uchiha. Most considered Obito an idiot, because he actively acted like he was, was smarter than anyone could have guessed. He noticed things, things that even he, a prodigy, didn't.
"I will take that as a yes. Maybe there is another one, but I feel like we are on the edge of one already." His brother-like figure continued muttering to himself.
"You think my father's change has to do with us teetering on the brink of war?"
"I know it is. I mean, it should be. But there are no specifications. Everyone is praising him for bringing most of his team back and completing the mission." Obito shook his head as his eyes scanned the ground in thought. "That doesn't make sense."
"Perhaps we are not seeing everything." Kakashi offered, crossing his arms over his chest. Something was bothering the older boy, but like many things relating to Obito, Kakashi knew he didn't have all the pieces. "Father is always talking about seeing underneath the underneath. Between the lines of the picture given to you."
"A good shinobi can hide the very thing they don't want you to see right in front of you." Obito nodded, answering with one of Emi's own lessons. "I don't think that is the case this time."
"The more blatant it is, the easier it is to overlook." Kakashi added as he combed through his own recent experiences with his father.
"Hatake-sama, thank you for your service!" Sitting across from him, Kakashi could see his father's already strained smile fail as he sat up from the grill and turned to the woman. "You brought back my husband and he may see the birth of his second child."
"Sakumo-san." A fellow Jōnin jogged up to them as they left the weapon smith. "Thank you. Your request for support really saved us. Haha." The brunette haired man offered earnestly, unaware of his father's shift in mood.
"I heard about your mission, Hatake-sama." Rin huffed out as she ran up from where he had left her and Obito at the playground. "I hope I can protect my teammates and precious people as well as you."
He gasped as a terrifying thought began forming in his head.
"Don't we still have some from the last time we were out?" He asked, curious why his father was picking up more pork belly. "Are we going to have people over?" They had gotten more than enough to feed the two of them the first day his father returned.
"Oh, have we?"
"We did." Kakashi answered slowly, wondering if his father truly forgot the two pounds they purchased. Glancing at the price of the item, Kakashi felt a wave of pride wash over him. This had been another silly test of his fathers. "Ah. There is a surplus. It would make sense to purchase extra now and freeze it. Since it is so cheap."
"You caught me." His father's mirthless eyes conflicted with the smile on his lips. It wasn't genuine. His father was lying to him. This entire week he had taken notice of his father's degradation. He used to glide across the grounds. His steps, always silent like a predator on the hunt. Yet Kakashi heard every step his father took as he walked away from him.
His eyes fell back onto the pork belly.
"Kakashi!" Obito's hands were on his shoulders, eyes watery. The boy really hated dealing with this side of his friend. He was too open, even if it was a rouse. He had long since learned that there was a kernel of truth in the best of lies.
"What."
"What's going on with you guys." The mask was back, but didn't cover the intensity of his eyes. The amount of sympathy he found staring back at him was too much. Kakashi brought a hand up and slapped Obito's off.
"What's wrong with you. Holding onto someone and yelling in their face." The Uchiha jumped back, but it was for show. Eyes were the hardest thing to conceal. It even took Obito time to fully shift into the role. Once Kakashi learned that like most, the Uchiha's eyes were a window into his soul, the Gennin took extra care into comparing his actions with them. "You came to the same conclusion." He growled.
Obito's direct gaze never shifted as his brows arched in a twisted mix of shock and disbelief. The severity of their revelation prevented him from being able to maintain the slight façade he had slipped back into just moments before. All the while Kakashi swore the pounding of his own heart beating in his ears was growing louder.
"Yeah." His gaze shifted away from Obito as silence hung over them for a couple of minutes. Obito remained standing in front of him while he sat on the edge of his bed. Neither able to look at the other as they processed the implications of their newfound revelation.
It was a beautiful day as he lay on the ground staring up at the sky, wondering if she was looking at the same shifting clouds as he. Around him he could hear the sounds of the other's heavy breathing as they tried to catch their breath after a good training bout. He had been hesitant to leave the house and unable to directly ask his father the one question that plagued his mind for the last two days.
"It's scary." Asuma stated, luring Kakashi out of his thoughts and shifting his attention to the academy student leaning back against his arms. "When they say they will do anything to protect you. I hate when they say that."
"It's the most honorable thing to do!" Gai interrupted, sitting up himself from his prone position. "To protect those you care for." Looking at him now, Kakashi was thankful that Obito was coerced from wearing some similar jumpsuit all those weeks ago. Gai was hard to take seriously, especially after their awkward first encounter about a year ago… he was getting better. He may not have one any of their spars yet, but Gai had landed more hits as time passed.
"Yeah, well, screw honor. I don't care about it if it means they have to die." Kakashi didn't know how they ended up on this topic, but he really hoped it didn't last long.
"But don't you understand. You are saying the very thing you dislike them saying." Gai turned to him, not unexpectedly, since he had been the deciding factor with technicalities.
"He has a point. You are saying you don't want to live in a world where they have to lose you. Which is exactly what they are saying." Obito said, beating him to the punch and drawing the other two boys' attention with it.
"If you don't want to die, drop out of the academy now." Kakashi offered, frowning behind his mask. "I understand your dilemma, though." He added when Asuma reddened in anger. "I don't want them to die. I don't want anyone I know to die, but we will. It's part of the circle of life." He sighed, looking away from them and back to the clouds. "Either way, if you do not have the desire to give your all. To give your life for your comrades, you shouldn't be in the academy."
"W-what about the village?" Asuma jerked up after a moment. "Or the Hokage. The whole point of being a shinobi is to fight for the village and protect the Hokage." This entire conversation was heading in a direction Kakashi would much rather avoid altogether.
"And what about your family?" Gai added, knitting his brows together.
"First, not everyone joins the academy or becomes the ninja for the same reason." Obito yawned as he stretched his arms out above him from his position on the ground. "Second: Those are the same thing to Bakashi." Kakashi didn't bother redirecting his gaze from the clouds above and remained silent.
"What do you mean?" Gai's voice asked after a brief pause.
"That's what obasan told me." That garnered his attention and prevented the Hatake from retreating to his thoughts. "He gets it from his father. The village is his family. His comrades are his family. And it is this fervent loyalty and dedication alongside the frequent wars that brought the Hatake-clan to the brink of extinction." Shutting his eyes, Kakashi knew the other two were looking at him, but remained silent, hoping that would draw an end to the conversation. "They all fight and defend their own, but their own goes beyond bloody. That's why we only have Hatake-oji and Bakashi here, today."
"I-I didn't know."
"What a youthful family-motto."
"It's stupid." Glaring at his adoptive brother was the nicest thing he could have done in that moment. Especially since a part of him wanted to kick his ass. Kakashi was curious how far Obito would show this darker shift to the other two. "The village is asking too much. It has literally cost them their entire blood family." While Obito wasn't looking at him, Kakashi saw the tears slid down his cheeks. "It's not fair. What have they gotten out of it? You've both been there. That compound shows just how large they were. Even then, that is not a good representation. That was just based on their numbers after the village was founded and granted them land to use as they saw fit. Imagine if it was the Hyūga or Uchiha compound. Sure both are bigger, but would we would look them at as we see the Hatake compound had their clans nearly been wiped out in the wars of the not so distant past?"
"T-That's something to think about." Asuma started looking at him as if seeing him in a new light.
"Don't." Kakashi growled. "I don't need nor want your pity. Nor do I want any privilege out of sympathy. I will serve to the best of my ability."
"Said every Hatake already halfway to their grave." Obito spat. "You two remember that. Remember that while even knowing their clan is on the brink of extinction, they graduated. him early. When we all know there is a war coming."
"O-Obito…" The other two were uncomfortable with where the conversation had gone.
"Meanwhile, everyone praises the previous two clans I mentioned. My own and the Hyūga, both of whom are not perfect and honestly not something to pride yourself over, yet they are celebrated and praised. It's all a giant fucking joke." Kakashi shut his eyes, wishing himself to be anywhere but here right now.
"I would die happy if it meant that you never had to see a battlefield." Exhausted doe-brown eyes stare at him from her prone position on the couch as he entered the room. "If you and your father never had to experience further loss." He had just come out for a glass of water and while he didn't smell alcohol he wondered if she had drank a little too much before coming in.
"Stop crying, you're an academy student in the pipeline to be a ninja." He didn't think the tears would stop, but at least now Kakashi could say he tried. "You're thinking way too hard about this. I am a shinobi because I want to be." Because my father and Emi are. "I will protect my comrades. There will be losses, but if I can drop that number even by one. It's worth it." He was his own person, an adult now that he wore the headband around his forehead. He knew the danger; neither Emi nor his father shielded him from them when he questioned things. He had learned what he knew about basic medical treatment and theory from his father patching Emi up when she returned from her missions.
Done with training and the conversation at hand, Kakashi stood up and made his way back to the compound.
"Hatake-sempai!" Rin joined him halfway through his trek home. "How are things? Did you just get done training for the day?"
"I did." A thought crossed his mind, "Obito said he invited you to join us, but you said you were busy."
"I didn't want to intrude." He cocked his head to the side slightly, and she continued. "Obito doesn't have a lot of friends in the academy." She admitted, shaking her head. "He's got a bit personality and not everybody likes that."
"You don't say."
"So when he said that he was meeting up with some friends for training, I was happy."
"He didn't invite you, did he?"
"Not directly, no."
"You're more than welcome to join us for training." He offered, extending the invitation formally. "That would put us with an odd number of people, so if you know anyone who would like to join that would help." When she didn't respond, he looked over to her and found her silently analyzing him. "Hmmm."
"Nothing. You're just nothing like how I expected you to be."
"If you are basing it on the kids at the academy, I am not surprised. You should take everything with a grain of salt regarding rumors and gossip."
"Hmmm?"
"Don't believe everything you hear others say."
"Ah. Well, you have a point. But I think I like this you, anyway."
"Hmm."
"I will ask around to see who is interested in training with a group. I won't mention who or I fear your fans will overrun your training sessions."
"Thank you in advance." The two of them continued walking in silence alongside one another for another couple of minutes. He had presumed that their conversation was over and nearly missed her concerned whisper.
"Is everything alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't see you and your father around town as often as I used to."
"Should I be worried?"
"About what?"
"You just admitted you were stalking me." Casually, he glanced over and watched her meltdown. She flushed and while she attempted to form a response the first couple of attempts were nothing more than her opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find the words to use.
"What?! N-no. That's not what…" Content with the outcome he shifted his attention in front of him once more, letting the silence set for a bit longer. "You're joking."
"Perhaps. To answer your question, as far as I have been told, everything is fine. I do not know what exactly happened anymore than you do. Something happened, I know that much and I am sure my father will do the right thing when the time comes to act."
"If you say so." She stopped abruptly at a crossroads, and he paused as well. "This is my exit. Thank you for the invitation Hatake-sempai, I look forward to working with you."
"Kakashi." When she merely stare at him he elaborated. "Call me Kakashi. I'm not fond of honorifics. Plus, they get overly complicated in our line of work. I am your junior by age, but your senior by rank. "If address me as your junior due to age everyone could take it the wrong way and I am nobody's sempai. I am just another comrade."
"Wouldn't just calling you by your given name be a problem as well?"
"I told you to. If anyone has a question about it, they can ask me and I will clear it up." She thought it over before nodding.
"Alright then. I look forward to training with you and the other Kakashi."