im not sure how i feel about this chapter but something is better than nothing and im trying to kill a little time here in the story before i start the 4th great shinobi war. (someone asked about that but yes, it'll lead into that just bare with me!) but anyways, this chapter is pretty filler i guess but i hope everyone enjoys!
Chapter 18:
Kakashis POV:
"All papers have come back. A meeting will happen a week from today at the five kage summit" Homura informed me.
"Excellent" I told him. It was the middle of the day and my brain was already fried.. The meeting with the council was finally over at least. They wanted a check in to see how my first week was going.
I stood up from my seat, ready to leave the room Sasuke and I were stuck in for two hours. I needed food in my stomach and that was the only thing on my mind.
"I totally understand why Tsunade wanted to drink all the time now" I said out loud, sighing. I could feel Sasuke glaring at me, so I made eye contact.
"That's not funny considering how much of it you've had this past year" he hissed at me. He was right..
"Sorry, sorry.. You want to grab some lunch?" I asked, hoping it would relieve some tension. To be fair, I hadn't had a drink in ten days. Not like that was a long time but it was different than being drunk almost everyday for the past year.
I hadn't thought about drinking myself to sleep due to the attack on the village, being the hokage and whatever happened last night Hinata.
"Kakashi, where do you want to sit?" Sasuke asked, snapping me of my thoughts. Did I space out that entire time? Damn. I quickly scanned the restaurant and decided on the far back corner, at least if someone wanted to talk to me I would see them coming. I pointed in the direction I wanted to go and we moved towards the table.
We had sat down and things didn't feel awkward sitting in the silence, it was nice actually. That's another thing I enjoyed about having Sasuke around, he didn't just ramble.
"So who are we taking with us to the summit?" Sasuke asked me and I just looked at him.
"I was going to ask Neji, I believe his kekkei genkai would be more than helpful. Plus, it's a great honor being the Hokages bodyguard on trips like this" I told him and he nodded his head in agreement.
"And I also wanted to use the time we're traveling to talk to him about something" I said out loud and Sasuke's interest peaked. Sasuke might of been a hard ass all his life but he always wanted to know everything.
"Am I allowed to know?" he asked me.
"You do realize as my assistant you are to be trusted with everything I speak and do as Hokage, right?" I asked him, making sure he understood that.
"I thought I was here just to run errands for you and help with paperwork," he told me and he was serious. I pinched the bridge of my nose and heavily sighed.
"I question your intelligence sometimes. But, no. If you were only here for paperwork and errands, you wouldn't be sitting with me during meetings and we most certainly would not be talking about the meeting right now" I said, unpinching my nose to look at him. All he did was nod his head.
"Anyways, about Neji. I wanted to speak to him about becoming captain of Anbu. He is a great choice. But, I need to persuade him so because he never thinks he's worthy of anything" I continued talking going back to the original point of this story.
"Why not? He's a genius and the best thing the Hyuga clan has seen in years" Sasuke said, sounding kind of bitter.
"Because of the way Hiashi has treated him. He might have all seeing eyes but he can only see what's in front of him" I said to him. It was true too, it's a shame the way they teach, learn and love in that clan. It messes you up in the long run. I guess Hinata leaving the clan was a blessing. She's still messed up but won't continue to be poisoned by them.
"I thought clan politics and teachings in my clan were bad. I take it back. The Hyuga clan is beyond fucked up. I feel sorry for them" he said and I nodded my head in agreement.
"You're not wrong. They've been in their ways since the start of the clan and because we're the most powerful clan in the village, they're all arrogant too" a voice said from the side of us, I jumped a little bit and looked to see Neji. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
"Have you been here the entire time?" Sasuke asked him.
"No. I came to pick up some lunch for myself and a few others. I overheard you speaking of my clan so I chimed in" Neji said, he was already filthy of sweat and dirt from his work this morning. I was glad he only heard that part. I didn't want to bring up his position of black ops captain yet.
"Oh, well, I hope your morning is going well" I spoke up, interrupting them.
"It's okay, I'm just tired. We did however finish our third house this morning. We're starting our fourth after lunch" Neji said, smiling.
"I'm glad to hear it. We have a long way to go but everything will be back to normal eventually" I told him.
"That's true. Well I'll see you in a little while when I do my rounds around the village" I told Neji, pointing to his food on the counter. He looked over his shoulder and then nodded his head to Sasuke and bowed to me, leaving.
"You think he'll ever stop bowing to you?" Sasuke asked, smirked and I rolled my eyes. He knew if bothered me so he poked fun at me.
Our lunch passed quickly, so did doing rounds around the village. Now, our last stop was the academy before we headed home to move things and start tackling the mountain of paperwork we had accumulated in a week. I wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done.
"So, Kakashi, I was thinking about something" Sasuke said to me as we continued our walk toward the academy grounds. I wanted to check in on the first day of class. Luckily the field near where the school was big enough for everyone to do what was needed. I felt bad considering these students wouldn't learn in a proper learning environment but fresh air never killed anyone.
"What's on your mind?" I asked him.
"I think we should use one of the other houses in my district as the Hokage manor for now because I'm sick of using two different bedrooms and the kitchen table" he said bluntly.
"Really? I was thinking about talking to your brother about it but I didn't want to overstep boundaries considering I was already staying in his home" I said shyly, admitting the truth that had been on my mind since I became Hokage.
"You don't need to talk to Itachi, it's also my home and I'm the one who wants more space" he said defensively. Sometimes I forget Sasuke is his own adult and didn't need Itachi's permission to do anything.
"Well then, count me in. It would be a lot better. We could start moving things when we're doing what is needed today" I said, a weight releasing from my shoulders knowing things were about to be a lot easier.
"Not to mention, we don't have to share a house with four other people either" he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"That's a valid point" I said, not thinking about that part.
"So it's settled then. Operation Hokage manor in action" Sasuke said, smirking. I chuckled at him. I was glad he was happier now since returning.
The remainder of the walk was pretty quiet, as we approached the field, I could see the future of our shinobi studying and practicing weapon wielding. It brought a smile to face knowing kids still wanted to be a ninja. Even if a time were to come when the world was at peace, having shinobi around was a safe keep, always.
"Look, the Hokage!" a small child yelled and then almost all children stopped to look at me, I could feel my face becoming red and I was never so happy to be wearing a mask.
Sasuke started laughing and I gave him a dirty look.
"At least they're respectful" he said, calming down and we finally reached Iruka.
"Ah, Kakashi. It's nice to see you" Iruka spoke, smiling at me.
"I came to check in on the children to make sure they were doing what they're supposed to be doing" I waved to him while I spoke and all of them snapped their attention back to their tasks. Except for one kid who continue to glare at me. The child was about fifteen feet away from me. He was in front of the line for target practice with ninja tools.
"There's a small child giving you a dirty look" Sasuke whispered to me and Iruka looked at him.
"Show the Hokage respect, Kishi" Iruka spoke sternly.
"No, I can't trust anyone who's Hokage. That old lady didn't protect the village like she promised and my home is gone" the child started to yell, he reminded me of a small Sasuke who was bitter and angry at something that hurt him and I understood.
"Kishi-" Iruka went to yell at the kid and I put my hand up to stop him.
"I got this" I said and everyone around was quiet now.
"I know you're upset about losing your home, I am too. A lot of people lost their homes but Lady Tsunade sacrificed a lot during the attack. She saved each and every single shinobi in the village that day. Saving your friends and comrades is the most important thing in the entire world" I told him.
"No, it's not. Completing the mission is and she failed. The entire village is gone because of her" he said to me and everything in the world froze for a minute. I take it back. He wasn't as smaller Sasuke, he was a smaller me.
"I'm going to teach you all something" I spoke, taking a step forward. All these children were about to learn who their Hokage was.
"Iruka, this is okay, correct?" I asked, looking at him.
"By all means" he guestered and I turned back toward the children who were now all looking at me again. I didn't think my first time visiting the children I would be teaching them a lesson but what better to teach the future from my past mistakes.
For about an hour, I had told them of my first mission as a Jonin, leading to the demise of my best friend because I didn't think comrades lives were important at the time, thanks to my father's mistake. I even showed them my sharingan eye as its living proof you'll friends will always have your back, even when they're dying.
"Did Lady Tsunade really save everyone..?" the small child who argued with me asked. He was the first one to speak. All of the other children who were listening were attached to every word I spoke.
"She did. After I came back to life, it opened my eyes to protect and continue leading the legacy of Hokage. So, while you and your family were safe inside the tunnels that day. She nearly gave her life for everyone" I told them all, especially Kishi.
"The Hokages duty is to protect the village, yes. But more importantly the lives of the people living inside and she did just that. So don't be mad at her or anyone who's the Hokage. She did what she had to do" I said as gently as possible. I could see the look in his eyes soften. I knew he got it, he seemed like a smart kid.
"I didn't think of it like that.. I'm sorry" he told me.
"There isn't a need to apologize. I understand when you were coming from. Are you still upset?" I asked him, curious.
"No. Now I'm motivated to become the best shinobi I can be" he said to me with determination and I smiled knowing I got my point across.
"I'm happy to hear that. Now, please, continue working" I pressed a little bit and all the children went back to doing what they had to do with even more eagerness to become great.
I turned around to face Iruka and Sasuke and they looked at me weird.
"I never knew that entire story" Iruka said to me.
"Not exactly my favorite story to share but I think it'll help them grow into something better for the future. It's an important lesson" I said with confidence even though talking about that memory in particular still greatly upset me.
"Well, I believe it did. I hope it keeps them motivated" Iruka spoke, glancing off at them.
"Anyways, was just checking in. I would check in on Hinata and her students but they're studying and I'm not interrupting them. Mind power is just as important is physical power" I said, looking in her direction and to be honest, I didn't want to go near Hinata until her first day was over.
Her and I needed to talk more about last night and I didn't want to distract her.
"Also, while we're here. If any paperwork is needed to be looked at. Kakashi's office is now in the Uchiha district. Second house on the right when you enter the gates" Sasuke spoke, informing Iruka of something I probably should of spoke up about.
"That's good to know, thank you, Sasuke" Iruka said, giving him a small smile.
"Well, now that we had an hour talk with ur future ninja, I suppose we should get a move on. We have things to move and read" I said, looking at Sasuke.
"It was nice seeing you guys" Iruka said, we all said our goodbyes.
"I wasn't expecting you to be so open with them. You were never this open with us" Sasuke said, is he jealous?
"You guys never needed it. You and Naruto used each other to better each other and Sakura just followed you" I shrugged my shoulders while speaking.
"I guess you're right but still, I didn't realize you went threw that. Is that why our first lesson was about friendship?" he questioned me.
"Exactly. Forming bonds with people, no matter what type of bond it may be is important" I said, snapping my fingers when I said exactly.
"Now I get why you got so upset when Hinata and I left the village.." he said quietly. Did he want me to hear that?
"Yes. I didn't think either of you would come back. Actually, it's kind of funny how the world works. The person you both left the village for at one point is now inside of it" I said out loud, I wasn't sure why I did but I guess at this point we were just conversing.
"Are you talking about Itachi?" Sasuke asked me/
"I am," I said, giving him a short answer.
"She left because of you too, you know" he said to me.
"I know, it's just going back to my lesson about bonds, if Hinata never fell in love with him and brought him back, you would've killed him without knowing the truth. Life is one giant circle, Sasuke" I continued speaking like a crazy person.
"You both went on a wild adventure for him, different reasons though. Yours was to kill him and hers was to love him" I told him, finally finishing my statement. Now that I was thinking about it.. I don't think she meant what she said last night now.. She never once pursued me, only him. She left that village that day, risking everything, for him. Everything she has ever done these past years was for him.
"Kakashi, are you okay?" Sasuke asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I snapped back to reality as glanced at him.
"I think so, why?" I questioned him.
"You're never this open and you just spaced out into kakashi land" he said, looking at me weirdly.
"It's just been a really long week. Between restoration of the village, being the hokage, talking with Hinata and just all around stress. I need something to take the edge off" I said honestly to him. I started to think about having a drink but I knew from the past year that if I had one, I wouldn't stop.
"Okay, well you know I'm not for talking but I'd like to help.. So, let's start with Hinata. What did you talk about?" he asked me and my mind went blank for a minute. Where do I start?
"Listen, if you don't want to talk to me about it, that's fine but you at least have to talk to Neji. He's been by your side the entire time" he said to me. He was right.. I hadn't even really talked to Neji, man.. I'm a terrible friend.
"She just has me confused about her feelings. I don't know if she wants to be with me or your brother and I can't shake it" I told him, opening up to him.
"It's been over a year and she still isn't sure? Do you really want that kind of guessing game in your life until one of you dies?" he asked me.. He made a valid point but I knew from last night alone that I would never give up on her.
"At the moment I only want her friendship. Truthfully, it just gets me all upset when I don't know who she wants" I told him.
"She told me yesterday she cared a lot about Itachi, so what does that tell you?" he asked me, when did they talk?
"Since when do you two talk?" I ignored his question to ask him one of my own.
"We don't. She apologized to me for putting me in the middle of all that pointless drama last year" he shrugged it off. Well, that was good. She had officially apologized to everyone now that she had hurt.
"I do know however that if she hurts either of you again, I'm putting her in her place. She might be okay with everyone now, But, to me it sounds like she's still stringing you both a long like puppets" he said bluntly, was she actually still doing it to the both of us though?
"As far as the rest of your stress, you have me so don't worry about a girl right now, you have a village to run" he hissed at me.
"You're not her biggest fan are you?" I asked, wondering.
"Not right now. Not until she figures out her own shit. She damn near killed the both of you and it pisses me off that you're both being idiots. How you two ever talked about it?" Sasuke asked.
I remained quiet for a minute and realized we were in front of the Uchiha district. Damn, I need to start paying attention to my surroundings.
"No, we haven't" I said truthfully. I don't think we could to be honest.
"Well, you might want to try because I sincerely thinking she's playing the both of you" he said with an attitude. He was probably right but I didn't want to be faced with that again.
"Well, to change the subject.. How do you plan on moving everything? Where should we start?" I asked him, hoping he would let it go.
"We're not done with this conversation. But, let's start with all the paperwork" he glared at me, making a beeline toward Itachi's house. I should of just kept my mouth shut. Sasuke didn't talk about things like this and didn't like to touch on feelings but once something bothered him, he got to the bottom of it. I think I just broke my heart before it was ready to be broken again…
Itachis POV:
The sun was going down and I was ready to go home and shower. The sun was brutal today and my sunburn wasn't going to get any better soon.
I finished moving the last beam into place on the foundation of the academy. I smirked a little bit, we could start building upwards now. Better days were ahead and at the pace were going, I could see this being finished in two months tops.
I wiped my forehead and back away so I could start my venture home.
"See you guys tomorrow" I waved towards the guys whom I've been working on this with. They waved back and I started my venture home.
"Itachi!" a voice shouted before I even took ten steps, I turned to see Hinata waving at me with a huge grin on her face. I smiled back and waited for her to catch up.
"School was released hours ago, you're getting out now?" I asked and we continued our walk.
"Yes, we have a small meeting to discuss a few things and then we just started talking and here we are" she giggled a bit.
"You're in a good mood" I commented on her cheerfulness.
"Today was a great first day. I missed teaching" she said.
"Makes sense. I hope I like it as much as you" I said honestly. I knew once the academy was rebuilt that I would start my career of teaching.
"Why not just ask Kakashi to do something else, he's in charge now, not Tsunade" she said, she made a point but I shook the thought away.
"Because it wasn't just her decision. Everyone agreed to make me a teacher because I'm not trusted to leave the village yet" I said, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, well. I'm sure you'll be fine. It's fun molding small minds to become greater ones" she smiled while speaking, causing me to smirk again. Her smile was contagious, I swear. I had never met a person who didn't smile around her.
"How was your day?" she asked as we continued to walk towards home.
"Was warm and busy but we finished the foundation to the academy, the rate we're moving I give it two months until it's finished" I told her.
"That's great" she chirped. Man, she really was in a good mood. It was a change of pace.
"How are you feeling today?" I asked, curious.
"My arm is as good as it's gonna get and my back is sore from moving around so much," she said.
"Don't overdue it to much, it's only your second day walking around" I reminded her.
"Don't give me health tips. You ran across half the village at full speed the same day we did surgery to heal your lung disease" she spoke with sarcasm, sticking her tongue out at me.
"Oh yeah.." I said, I forgot about that. That was so long ago now, wasn't it? I barely even remember what it was like to be sick.
As we neared the gates to the district, I saw the lights were on in another house.
"Hm.. I wonder what Sasuke is doing.." I said out loud, catching Hinata's attention.
"Let's go find out" she said, I shrugged in agreeance with her and we made our way to the house, passing mine.
We walked up the three stairs of the porch and I opened the door, all the lights were on and I could hear movement coming from upstairs. I headed toward the staircase, Hinata right behind me.
We made it up three steps before Sasuke appeared at the top of the stairs. He gave me a small smirk and then a dirty look cascaded toward Hinata. What was his problem?
"What are you guys doing?" I asked and continued to walk up the stairs. Sasuke moved out of view and we reached the hardwood floors of the second floor.
"Kakashi and I are going to use this house as the Hokage manor and our home from now on until the actually hokage manor is done being rebuilt" he said, informing me. I nodded my head and looked around. The desk that was up here was now littered in paperwork, the couch was moved to the back wall and the four windows in the area were opened, letting the cool summer breeze in.
"What's with the sudden change?" I asked him.
"I'm personally sick of not having space to work and your house might be big but I don't want to live with certain people and it's become to crowded" he said, glancing at Hinata again. I ignored his second dirty look towards her and focused on the subject.
"Well, I'm glad more parts of the district are being used. It needs to be. We didn't restore everything just to look at it" I added to the topic. He nodded his head and walked towards the desk. He started organizing them and I was glad he was the Hokage's assistant, this was going to be the best thing for him.
Noise started coming from down the hallway, I looked over to see Kakashi coming out of a room they were probably going to use.
"Yo" he said, giving a small wave.
"Well, I was just checking in to see what was going on" I said to them.
"Just the usual.. Trying to lead a village. Also, Hinata, how was your first day?" Kakashi spoke and we all glanced at her.
"Great! I missed it so much" she told him, smiling.
"That's good, I stopped by earlier to check in but you and your students were all studying" he informed her.
"You could of said hello. A lot of the kids are excited you're the Hokage. They knew of you before hand and think you're a badass" she giggled while she told him. A nerve struck within me and I couldn't figure out what it was but I knew I wanted to leave quicker.
"Not all of them, he had to give an hour speech on friendship to Irukas class. It got the point across though" Sasuke spoke, butting in.
"Well, that's all that matters then. But anyhow, I'm going home. I need to shower" I spoke, turning to walk down the stairs.
"If you guys need anything, you know where we are" Hinata chimed in and we began our walk downstairs. Before I lost complete vision of them, I looked up one last time to see Kakashi looking at paperwork and Sasuke glaring at Hinata. He made brief eye contact with me before we lost vision of each other.
I was definitely coming back here in a little while to speak with him.
We reached the porch to my home and made our way inside, the house was quiet, Neji and Kisame must've not been done yet.
"I also want to shower but you can go first" Hinata said to me as we took our shoes off. A switch flipped inside of me and I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close.
"Just shower with me" I whispered into her ear, picking her up carefully.
"What if someone comes home, what's our excuse this time?" she asked, giggling.
"I don't need one, it's my home" I said, kissing her as I reached the top step. I brought us into the bathroom, I kicked the door closed behind me. I placed her down on the counter so I could strip and turn the shower on.
"What's come over you? You're always hesitant about this kind of stuff" she asked me as she also started to take her clothes off. I walked up to her and grabbed her face with my hands.
"I just need you" I said, kissing her. She placed her hands on my chest and kissed me back. I picked her up, moving both of us into the water. I didn't want to have a conversation right now about how jealousy ran threw me.
Our shower was short because even though I wanted to do more things with her, my mind was preoccupied with my younger brother.
"I'll be back later, I'm going to run an errand. Are you going to be okay alone?" I asked her as I finished drying my hair off.
"I'll be fine, I'm going to lay down to give my back a break" she said giving me a half smile. I reached out to squeeze her hand before I left.
She went into her bedroom and I headed down the staircase, leaving the wet towel on the banister.
The walk to my brothers house took about three minutes but I got there and all the lights were still on. That's good, at least I knew they hadn't gone to sleep in the past half hour.
I hopped up on the porch and opened the door, walking in.
"Hello?" Sasuke yelled from up the stairs.
"It's me, I'd like to talk to you" I said loudly, hoping he would come down the stairs. Which he did because I could hear him walking from the floor above me.
"What do we need to talk about?" he asked with a slight attitude and he appeared at the bottom of the staircase, leaning against the railing.
"I noticed you giving Hinata a dirty look, three different times. Has she upset you?" I asked, wondering what his response would be.
"She has" he said bluntly, I stared at him for a minute, hoping he would speak more.
"What did she do?" I finally asked, I knew he wasn't going to speak more.
"After having a talk with Kakashi earlier, I'm angry with her," he replied with a vague message again.
"Can you stop speaking in riddles? You're irritating me" I said sharply.
"I'm not sure how to word this" he said, his attitude fading.
"You've never had a problem speaking your mind and now all of a sudden you're at a loss for words?" I asked, I was surprised. What was the issue?
"Fine. I guess I'll be blunt. She's been back here for almost two weeks and she's still stringing you and him along. Doesn't it bother you at all that she isn't picking one of you?" he asked me and I didn't know what to say because I hadn't thought about it like that…
"Now, who can't speak? I'm tired of her doing this to you guys. She literally told you both basically the same thing and I'll be damned if I see either of us revert to who you were months ago" Sasuke spat, making me look at him.
"Now I understand why you're upset" I said softly, not exactly sure what to say to him. I knew she was what I wanted but if she wanted Kakashi, I wouldn't stop her. I would never stop her from doing what she wanted.
"So, until she gets her life together I don't want to be around her. I will continue to give her dirty looks and if she has a problem with it. I'll let her know" he said again and I just kept staring at him.
"The only problem is that I can't stay away from her. She's my better half, Sasuke" I admitted to him.
"Your better half? Really? Are you that dense?" he asked, becoming mad now.
"I'm not dense, little brother. That girl is my everything and I personally don't care if I'm being used as a puppet as long as she's around me" I told him. Not all completely true, I did get jealous earlier for no reason but I can't make her choose so if sneaking around was my only option then so be it.
"Get out of my house before I beat the living hell out of you" Sasuke hissed, holding the bridge of his nose.
"There isn't a need to be this angry" I told him, trying to change his mind.
"But there is. She is going to continue hurting you both. You obviously don't care but Kakashi does. Doesn't it bother you in the slightest that at one point in time you guys were great friends and now you barely talk and because of a girl? When did you become an idiot, Itachi?" he asked, his voice changing from being angry.
"I do care and it does bother me that we don't talk much anymore. But, you can't control your feelings" I said.
"Well, you also can't love two people at once. Even I know that. So, you need to figure out which one of you is getting played before it's too late again" he said, turning his back on me to go back upstairs.
"It's not nice to leave mid conversation, Sasuke!" I said, getting loud toward him and he stopped, turning to look at me. Both of his eyes had switched to the sharingan. He must of been really upset.. That was one of the downfalls of his clan's eyes. You could have all the control over them but heavy emotion would always activate them.
"You know what else isn't nice? Saving your brother from suicide over a girl whom he's still blindly chasing after, repeating the past all over again" he hissed, walking back down the stairs. We had never really talked about that day, just moved on with our lives.
"I'm not blindly chasing her, I know what I'm doing" I told him.
"No, you don't. You're being an idiot!" he yelled at full force, running at me. I tried to block him before he could punch me in the face but it failed. He managed to hook me in the face and I stumbled back a bit.
"You need to calm down" I told him before I ended up losing my temper.
"No. I won't, until you cut ties with her. She's poison to you and you don't even realize it" he gritted out, trying to swing on me again. I ended up grabbing his arm the right way just to push him back.
"Sasuke, enough!" Kakashi yelled, when did he get down here. Sasuke stopped moving and was now standing between us.
"You both are being dumb over a female who keeps running back and fourth between you both. When are you going to realize one of you is going to lose her to the other?" he spat, leaving us to stand there and just stare at each other.
"I take it you heard everything?" I asked him and he nodded.
"I'm not sure exactly what to say.." he said kind of softly.
"I think Sasuke is right.. We let her come between our friendship in a way" I spoke first, hoping it would help either end the conversation or start one. Either one was better than standing here awkwardly.
"He's also right about another thing too.. Shes stringing us both along and I think we need to talk about it" he spoke and I nodded my head. He deserved to be happy, I knew she was the first thing in his life to be solid. He lost everyone he cherished and loved at a young age. He was a lone wolf until a few years ago when me, Neji and Hinata came into his life. I knew what I was about to say would kill me in the long run but I knew that as long as she was happy, I would be happy. I took a deep breath before speaking..
"I'll give up chasing her so you guys can be happy. You're everything to her, I know you are.. She went to great lengths to bring you back here. I even vouged for you guys when she brought you back all that time ago. I talked Tsunade into letting you stay so she could have you. I'm not sure if you ever knew that but it's true. Neji is my witness" Kakashi spoke, beating me to the punch line and I gawked at him.
"You're the reason I wasn't immediately detained and killed when I got here?" I was surprised.
"Yes. That was when you're illness was terminal and all thought you were going to die" he said to me.
"Well.. thank you but I was going to tell you the same thing. You've been here for every single day since you met her after I did what I did.." I told him, still in shock.
"I think this is where our problem is, we just want her to be happy and we're willing to sacrifice our feelings but she still isn't sure" he spoke.
"I believe I have a plan then. I don't want to and I'm sure you don't either but she can't have both of us forever" I said out loud, a light went off in my head. He looked me in the eyes, letting me know I had his full attention.
"I believe if we don't show her any type of love or affection, just friendship she'll finally realize who she actually wants.." I said to him and waited for a response.
"It'll be easy for me. I don't live in the same house as her anymore and my duty as Hokage is going to keep me busy. Can you do it? You sleep all over fifteen feet away from her at night" he asked.
"I can, so its settled? Are we okay now?" I asked him, I did miss our friendship before everything went downhill three years ago.
"I believe we're good. I just hope she'll be" he said, looking off to the side of the kitchen now.
"We'll find out" I told him and started moving back towards the front door to go home.
As soon as I got outside, all thoughts fade away, except for one. Could I actually stay away from her?