GONE
...
A ninja: that's what Hatake Kakashi is. Not much more can be said about it. It is neither a question, nor an answer, simply a ways to describe something that has come to be.
It's like saying 'the sky is blue'. Everyone knows it, but no one knows why.
It becomes something that's accepted in culture, a statement that doesn't need anything more to persuade an audience that it's true. A blind truth: something that not even time can change. And yet, change always seems to come with time…people adjust sooner or later, its human nature, and Kakashi knew that better than anyone.
After all, twelve months is just another number. Just another year.
Three hundred and sixty five days, twenty four hours, seven days a week; it all goes along the same lines that so much can change in so little of days, and yet seems to remain the same no matter what comes to pass. It is a period long enough for every season to come and go, short enough to forget it ever had.
But if anything was to be said on the basis of such a proposal, one thing in particular comes to mind; Konoha had aged another year, just as all its occupants had. It was another year closer to whatever destiny had in store, another year to be counted in a growing tally of deaths and births that always seemed to even itself out.
Some call it the balance of life. Others call it misfortune. The rest simply didn't know, or simply didn't care.
In truth, the mind can be a whole lot darker than the season itself, but today, it wasn't. The usual spring flowers wilted at the stem, a light drizzle fading across the land. The earth was murky, a grainy source of light blocked out by the overbearing clouds just outside windows that weren't even there.
Who knows? Maybe Kakashi wasn't really there either.
But he was.
For the most part, he simply stared. Hands tucked into his pockets, that unreadable expression on the visible part of his face, the stock silence of the arena made his posture form a look that threatened even the solidity of the stone he stood before.
"Look who's back…" It's amazing how cold the night could feel even after the wind had died down. "Long time no see."
Kakashi nodded, staying silent. The man speaking off to his left hovered around his shoulder, close enough to touch, but far enough away to build a feeling of distance.
"Hello, Uchiha."
"Uchiha? Since when have you called me that…" he stopped when he noticed Kakashi's expression, "...Geez, what's with the face! It looks like you've seen a ghost."
How did the simplest things in life turn out to be the most difficult?
"That's the second time I've heard that today."
"Pfft. No surprises there." the Uchiha snapped his fingers, "And take off that stupid mask already. Makes me feel like you're hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Ha. I know."
The rain continued to fall.
"It's nice to see you again." said Kakashi.
"You're telling me…How long has it been anyways?"
Kakashi fidgeted momentarily flexing his fingers, as if testing to see how far they'd stretch before they snapped. Even the smile beneath the mask stretched a bit farther than it should have, whether from amusement, or because of something else, he wasn't sure.
"A long time."
"….Mm. Things just aren't like they use to be, huh?" the man ran a hand through his hair, "Remember the first time we met? Ha, that was a laugh. It took me nearly three weeks to get that sewer water smell out of my hair. It took you nearly four… how did that happen anyways? Weren't we looking for a cat or something…?"
"Really… I don't remember." Kakashi drawled. The man ignored the comment.
"…But that was that. We never did get along very well ever since. Got scolded by you more times than I can remember. Guess things were too different back then. "
"You'd be surprised."
"I'm not." He cracked a grin as the lightning cracked the sky, giving the illusion that he had disappeared momentarily in the time between, "Oh! And before I forget! Rin wanted me to tell you hello."
"Does she….?" Kakashi watched as he readjusted his goggles, blending in more and more with the rain, "Why don't you tell her…"
His eyes, at least his visible one, glazed over.
"Uh….tell her what, Hatake?"
Kakashi brought a hand to his head. The silence is deafening, but isn't it always.
"Nothing, Obito." He whispered, "Forget I said anything."
But Kakashi didn't think he ever heard him, for he had already gone.
…But then again, maybe he was never really there.