Warning: Angst... Nothing major really. Maybe some spoilers if you haven't read the Kakashi Gaiden
Pairings: None.
Disclaimer: I own not the characters that spewed forth from Masashi Kishimoto's head.
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Kakashi often wondered about people, and their memories. It hurt to remember; this was a fact he knew all to well. Yet, people (himself included) always continued to remember. Everyday they (and he) put themselves (himself) through the hell that was recalling the past. Kakashi may be known as nothing more than the lazy, pervert who constantly had his nose stuck in that filthy orange book of his, but he was still a Jounin; a Jounin who saw everything that happened around him.
He saw how Iruka would often stand at the memorial for those shinobi who had fallen in battle. The Chuunin would often get look in his eyes, and lines that sorrow had contributed would etch around his mouth, and his eyes, as he remembered. Something that was obviously very painful; Kakashi didn't understand why Iruka wanted to remember that if it hurt so badly. He never asked though, just like no one ever asked him why he did anything he did. It just wasn't something to stick one's nose into, no matter how curious one was.
Sometimes he would spot Sakura, pausing as she passed the old bridge, or any other meeting spot Team 7 had used over the time before things had changed. The young Kunoichi would just irrationally stop whatever it was she was doing, saying and stare. It made no sense, but Kakashi could tell by the way her body language changed; how her head tilted forward a bit, her shoulders slumped, and the smile slipped of her face. He could just tell that Sakura was remembering.
Tsunade and Jiraiya could often be spotted together, in the early hours of twilight. They would sit at one of those small stands that served sake. Each would be silent, for they didn't need words to remember. They would simply stare into their cups of sake, and see their memories in the liquid; see and remember before they drowned it in alcohol. It would dull the pain, and he found that they were quite smart in that. However, their solution only lasted so long, hence why they always came back to do it again. He supposed they didn't want to make the memories go away all together. They wanted the pain to come back again.
Often times when he wandered aimlessly around Konoha, wasting time, Kakashi would spot Naruto sitting in the window of his apartment, on a building, in a tree. Wherever he was alone, and clutching a scarred Hitae-Ate. His eyes would have that glazed far away look, a look Kakashi wasn't quite sure he was comfortable seeing on the maverick ninja's face. It was there all the same, and there was nothing Kakashi could do to remove it. After all, Naruto needed to remember to.
Thus Kakashi supposed, he did to; and he did. He was always remembering. He carried his reminder with him. Behind his head band, in his heart, in his manner. When he used the gift that kept him alive he remembered: Obito. When he showed up late, and used one of those unbelievable excuses, he remembered: Obito. When his heart beat, when he lived, when he breathed, when he slept, when he dreamed. No matter what, Kakashi remembered: Obito…
Though it hurt, and painfully to recall, he supposed he wanted to remember; it hurt because it mattered. Kakashi also supposed, and everyone had their own ways to remember, it was after all another facet of human nature.
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A/N: Another oneshot that was plaguing me. Not really anything special, I guess. It came to me a few weeks back but the song "Gone Away" by The Offspring finally got me to write it. Review if you feel inclined!