Disclaimer: I woefully disclaim.

Pairing: Kakashi x Sasuke

Note: This is not an angst fic! Seriously. (It's more of a stupid!fic :O)

Re-Rejuvenated

By: yukuro

Final Stage: Adult

"I have a request. Please consider it."

Tsunade carefully set away the document she was previously signing and folded her hands deliberately slowly. When she finally raised her eyes to scrutinize the teen before her, her eyes were sharp and serious. She had somewhat expected something like this, so she supposed she was prepared enough to listen. "What is it, Kakashi?"

Bowing to a full ninety-degree angle, Kakashi declared firmly, "Please let me stay like this. This size, this age—please. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Knowing you, you're not simply saying this based on a selfish whim," Tsunade commented a bit darkly. "Do you know what you're asking? The way you are now you can't use any kind of jutsu and your cells are unstable. Is that how you want to live?"

"I don't care," Kakashi replied firmly, slowly returning to his full stature at Shizune's whispered request. "When I'm like this, Sasuke accepts me. There's nothing else I want."

Sighing lightly, as if disappointed, Tsunade returned her attention to her paperwork while Kakashi and Shizune remained motionless and silent. The blond woman closed her eyes as she sifted through the papers. In an offhanded manner, she mused, "A mistake on my part. You really are asking this on selfish whim. There is a reason I tried to keep you away from Sasuke."

"Please," Kakashi reasserted more firmly, choosing to ignore the last statement. "Let me remain this way if it's possible. I'm willing to accept any punishment you see fit."

"Use your head for moment, Kakashi," Tsunade snapped darkly, eyes sharp and cold. "You're dealing with the natural cycle of time here. Even if your body is like this now, to maintain it at it's current form would be going against the natural flow of time. If everyone had an opportunity like what you are requesting, this world would have abundant youth and no death. Idealistic, isn't it? You and I both know something like that is impossible."

The room fell into momentary silence, but both Kakashi and Tsunade's gazes remained firm and unwavering. Only Shizune shifted her gaze between the two, wondering what would become of the situation. Normally, she would not have wasted a second to support Tsunade's decision. This time, however, Kakashi emitted such an aura of determination that Shizune was left slightly speechless. She did, however, know how the situation would end. It was always the same.

"Understand something," Tsunade finally said with a slight sigh. "This is for your own sake. Fighting against the re-rejuvenation process is infinitely difficult and can even be deadly. You'll always lack energy—almost to the point of losing your vitality; simply breathing will become difficult. The cells can deteriorate or die all at once. Worst-case scenario: you will die. Are you willing to risk that?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, but the determination in his eyes never even flickered. Bowing again to a ninety-degree angle, he closed his eyes and whispered, "Please. To me, Sasuke is that important."

Over Tsunade's shoulder, she heard a faint thump outside her window. The little spy outside had been momentarily stunned and dropped the shield protecting him from having his presence discovered. Returning her gaze to Kakashi, who still remained bowed, Tsunade sighed once more. At the present state, Kakashi was still too weak to even realize the extra presence. The risk was really too much.

"The way you are now," Tsunade began, very frankly, "you're completely useless to the village as a ninja. The life you will carry—if you'll be able to retain it at all—really will be full of agony. Are you still willing?"

Rising to stand straight again, Kakashi directed his gaze directly at the woman and smiled lightly. Slightly bitterly, he stated, "I've already experienced worse agony than anything physical can do to me."

"You're not going to change your mind about this, are you?" Tsunade questioned in an exasperated tone. When Kakashi simply smiled silently in reply, she sighed and lifted a hand to her forehead. "Fine. I'll tell you."

"T-Tsunade-sama!" Shizune protested immediately, stepping forward as Kakashi offered another bow of gratitude. This was not what she had expected. To willing throw away the life of a villager was unheard of coming from Tsunade. Although Shizune had no doubts about Kakashi's stubborn will and determination, it was still too much of a risk. Tsunade had not clearly stated it, but in this case, the worst-case scenario was more than simply likely to occur. It would definitely come and without much of a wait.

If Kakashi were to seriously attempt to resist the re-rejuvenation of his cells, he would have no more than a month to live.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune repeated in a panic, storming over firmly to the woman's desk. "You know better than anyone what will happen if he does something like this! Are you really willing to through a villager's life away?"

"Shizune," Tsunade called quietly, eyes unwavering from where they held Kakashi's gaze. When the dark haired woman tensed at the sound of her name, Tsunade commanded sharply, "You will not have a say in this matter."

"Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade proceeded to ignore the despaired other woman, focusing her gaze a bit more grimly on Kakashi as he slowly stood up straight again. Once Kakashi was upright and facing her properly, she folded her hands before her and let her green eyes narrow slightly. "Hormones and force of will."

Kakashi's ears prickled slightly, unsure if he had properly heard from across the room with the intentional speed Tsunade had snapped the words out. He pressed his lips in a thin line as Shizune dropped her head into her palms in frustration. Patiently, he waited for an explanation.

"I've restricted you from using chakra while this process has been undergoing," Tsunade began. "Exhausting your chakra can be devastating to you in this state. However, if you want to stay this way, the only way is to use your chakra to regulate your hormonal flow. I'm sure you understand what it means to use up all your chakra."

"That simple is it?" Kakashi almost laughed, closing his eyes and ducking his head slightly. "I never would have dreamed it. Well, then Tsunade-sama, I owe you—"

"If you even think of doing something stupid like that, I'll kill you before you can kill yourself!"

At the snarling remark and the crash of glass, Kakashi's eyelids flew open and his head shot up. Sasuke had just smashed his way into the room through Tsunade's window and was glaring daggers at him from across the room. Completely surprised, Kakashi felt his jaw dislocate slightly. "Sasuke…"

"The fact that you hadn't noticed he was there the entire time really says something, Kakashi," Tsunade called with a shrug from her desk. As she leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs, she sighed, "Ah, but it sure did take you a long time to burst in."

"So that's what you were waiting for," Kakashi commented dryly with a smile and a shake of his head. "Even stalling Shizune…"

Still not budging from her desk, Tsunade shrugged again.

"Make no mistake," Kakashi stated firmly, eyes set. "I'm still going through with it."

"Don't be such an incompetent fool!" Sasuke snarled, stomping across the room to snatch hold of Kakashi's collar. "Just what do you hope to gain, tossing your life away?"

"I thought that part was obvious," Kakashi replied with a smile.

"I don't want an idiot who would throw his life away," Sasuke said darkly, palm shaking slightly. "If you honestly thought I would prefer to keep you this way, you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"Ah, that's right," Kakashi went on, gaze directed up at the ceiling. "You don't want me to stay in your house anymore, right?"

"Kakashi!"

"Sasuke," Kakashi called calmly, a strangely calm smile on his face despite how Sasuke was clutching his collar. "As an adult, you wouldn't accept me, and as a child it's impossible as well. Maybe it's my foolish youth getting to me, but I definitely want to be with you at any cost. Like this is the only way I can make it happen."

"I never asked you to stay this age," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "And I never said I would only accept you this way. You've never tried hard enough, so what would you know? You're more of an idiot than I thought. You're just so stupid…"

Kakashi softened slightly. "Sasuke…"

"Just go back to being yourself already," the dark haired teen said wearily, angry frown still on his face and grip still shaking. Head drooped low, Sasuke slowly loosened his grip on the other teen's collar. "Just be yourself again. I don't care how old you are as long as you're alive, you asshole."

Kakashi felt words fail him, seeing Sasuke with such a lost expression. He knew he was being selfish, but that was something he had never done before. At this time, a wave of nostalgia hit him and he was somehow reminded of the bitterness he felt as he gazed down at Obito smiling at him from where he was last lie. Finally, he closed his eyes and let that bitter smile return, lifting his arms to embrace the dark haired boy before him. Once again, hi had been completely defeated.

"There is a reason I tried to keep you away from Sasuke," Tsunade spoke up suddenly, making both Sasuke and Kakashi look up at her. Green eyes sharp, she continued, "I've said it, didn't I? Hormones are a primary factor in stabilizing cell growth. Kakashi, don't think I'm a big enough fool not to have realized you had special feelings for the boy. The reason I told you to stay with Sakura was for your own good."

"The thought of Kakashi staying with Sakura makes me worry about Sakura's safely," Sasuke muttered dryly. Expression growing serious again, he demanded, "What's your point? What's the difference between me and Sakura?"

"You may not have noticed," Tsunade began darkly, "but even for his present condition, Kakashi has been growing far too rapidly and with far too much strain to be considered normal."

"And you're saying that's my fault?" Sasuke asked with a narrowed glare.

"Precisely," Tsunade shot back with icily a glare of equal intensity. "Because of you, Kakashi lost complete control of himself. I'm sure you were smart enough to understand by now why you've been getting so many missions lately. If it wasn't your fault, I wouldn't have bothered."

Kakashi could feel Sasuke's fist shaking again where he still had his fingers clutched his collar. All the while, the dark haired teen did not release his glare from the blond woman across the room. Slowly, Kakashi lifted his palm to cover Sasuke's shaking one, and when the other teen finally broke his gaze from Tsunade to look at him, Kakashi smiled reassuringly. "Sasuke, you should know already, that's not your fault. Everything I've done so far has been on my own accord."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped, pulling his hand away and shaking his head. "You… You're so stupid…"

Closing his eyes briefly, Kakashi sighed. Turning away from the teen, he redirected his gaze at Tsunade, who was still observing them with an impossibly cool air. "All right, I understand. I'll behave and properly grow up, but I'll say it now: I won't leave Sasuke."

Tsunade closed her eyes in response and changed her expression to something of a smirk. "I assumed you'd say that. Fine. Just make sure next time you show up here, I won't have to crane my neck downwards just to see you, gaki."

Saluting a bit mockingly, Kakashi mirrored a smirk before commenting, "I'll look forward to it."

"Oh, and of course," Tsunade called as the teens made their way towards the door. A wicked smile on her face, she stated, "Your share of missions from your absence period will be waiting for you when you return. Look forward to that too, will you?"

At that, Kakashi twitched a bit and frowned a bit visibly before ushering Sasuke out of the room.

Once the door clicked shut, Tsunade felt a pleased grin spread across her face as Shizune slowly made her way back over to her. The dark haired woman sighed and brought a hand up to her forehead. "Tsunade-sama, you knew Sasuke was there the whole time, didn't you?"

"The kid definitely took his time getting in here! Actually, I'm surprised you didn't notice.," Tsunade replied with a knowing smirk, making Shizune blink in confusion. Tossing her hands up in amusement, she stated with a wide grin, "The boy was practically radiating pheromones. It's hard to miss, you know."

Shizune made a face.

"Tsunade-sama, the way you word things is really…"

Tsunade simply smirked in response.

"Well then. Mission accomplished."

Moonlight was still pouring in from the window when Sasuke and Kakashi returned. The dark haired teen sat, immobile, on his bed, gazing out the window while Kakashi sat across from him on the bed, his own gaze locked on Sasuke's face as if searching for some kind of response. They sat in silence for a long while before Sasuke finally spoke, although not shifting his gaze from where he stared out the window. "Starting tomorrow," he began quietly, "go live with Naruto until you're better."

"You know I won't agree to that," Kakashi replied with a slight smile.

"Iruka then, I don't care," Sasuke shot back in frustration as he let his head dip a bit lower. "Just get away from here. Don't come close to me."

"It's rare to see you worry about me," the gray haired teen observed with a slightly wider smile. Sliding over, he pulled the other boy into a loose embrace. "Unfortunately, you can't get rid of me that easily. I've already said it, haven't I? I don't plan on leaving you. You won't let me?"

"I want you to survive, you idiot," Sasuke scowled, pushing away from the other teen. "I don't care if you have to leave here as long as you're still around to see another day! Do you have to be so completely incompetent that you can't understand that?"

Stealing a kiss from the angered boy, Kakashi turned his tiny smile into a complete grin. With a teasing laugh, he stated, "Sasuke, you're so cute."

Sasuke shot him a death glare.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Kakashi laughed. "I did promise already that I'll behave and grow up properly. I can't really go back on my word now. In return, you're going to have to stay with me all the while and make sure everything runs smoothly."

"I refuse," Sasuke replied flatly with a frown as Kakashi leaned over to let his lips trace over his exposed neck.

"You're just angry because I did it too roughly the first time, aren't you?" Kakashi teased wickedly, moving his arms like an iron clamp around the boy's waist. "I'll be nicer this time, I promise."

"If you don't get your hands off me, I'll cut them off!" Sasuke snarled, face significantly redder. His anger response only seemed to further amuse Kakashi, however, unfortunately for him. In retaliation, he raised his foot and kicked. "Go sleep on the couch you stupid, horny jounin!"

"How mean, Sasuke-chan!" Kakashi called out in a pseudo-high pitched voice, grinning like a starved fox as he expertly evaded Sasuke's lashes.

Sasuke was unsure which he hated being called more: Sasuke-chan or Sasuke-niichan. Either way, Kakashi most definitely knew how to annoy him beyond all reason. Deep-set scowl on his face, he wiggled away from the other teen and crawled towards the corner of the bed. Shooting a glare over his shoulder, he stated firmly, "Go away. I'm going to bed."

"You'd be lying if you said you really expected me to leave just like that," Kakashi said with a crooked grin as Sasuke roughly tossed aside the sheets and climbed in. After receiving another death glare, Kakashi gave up and plopped down on the bed next to the dark haired boy. This action gained him yet another death glare. "Relax," he said in amusement. "I promise to behave myself, so let me stay here."

"Dishes."

"What?" Kakashi asked with a blink.

"Dishes," Sasuke repeated in a mumble. "For a week. And when you're back to normal, you're paying me back for all the trouble I've been through for you. That includes all those extra missions I had to take because of you. So you had better turn back to normal. Jerk."

Smile crossing his face, Kakashi closed his eyes and laid down to face the ceiling. "If you say so."

The night felt long and cold, and although Sasuke was sure his eyes were closed and his mind was blank the entire time, it felt as if he had not slept a bit. At some point during the night, Kakashi had come close enough to put his arms around him. Sasuke did not bother to resist—Kakashi was already asleep. Feeling the even breathing on his neck, Sasuke let his body relax again, wishing himself some sleep. The next time he felt consciousness return to him, the sun was peeking in from the window and Kakashi was sitting up, gazing down at his hands.

The now twenty-one year old Kakashi turned to grin sheepishly at Sasuke as the dark haired teen slowly sat up. Laughing in a way that seemed completely fake to Sasuke, he commented, "That didn't last very long. I'm an adult already."

Suddenly, memories of the previous night flooded into Sasuke's mind again and seemed unable to dissipate. Reaching over with a sigh, Sasuke pat the man's head lightly. "You're an idiot after all. Don't look so upset. It's better this way. Once you're back to normal, everything will be fine again."

"If you say so," Kakashi said softly with a smile, closing his eyes and allowing Sasuke to pat his head again.

At that moment, Naruto swung down from the roof and landed neatly on the windowsill next to the bed. Seeing their positions, the blond let out a low whistle and grinned a bit wickedly. "As usual, you two are friendly in the morning!"

Sasuke twitched and narrowed his eyes. "Naruto…"

Kakashi on the other hand, grinned cheerfully and laughed aloud, practically radiating hearts and sparkles. "Oho, you noticed? You're sharper than I thought!"

"But, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began, folding his arms as Sasuke proceeded to kick the gray haired man in the head and off the bed. "Why is it you're like a dog today?"

"Fitting for a man who summons dogs," Sasuke grumbled, tossing his sheets off his body and over Naruto's head. "And Naruto! How many times have I told you to stop coming in from my window, Usuratonkachi? I'm surrounded by idiots, damn it!"

As Sasuke stormed out of the room and into the bathroom, Naruto pulled the sheet off his head and ducked into the room, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hmm," he began thoughtfully, spreading the sheet neatly over Sasuke's bed again. "But I did go to the front door first. I knocked, but once again, no one answered. I figured I'd reach you two fastest this way."

"Oh, don't mind him," Kakashi stated cheerfully with a wave of his hand and a grin plastered on his face. "Sasuke's just sore from last night."

"I HEARD THAT, KAKASHI!"

"Here it comes," Naruto sighed, tossing his hands up. "Lovers' quarrel number thirty-seven."

"I'm surprised you were keeping count," Kakashi replied with an amused smile as Sasuke stormed back in to throw a kunai at his head, which he dodged quite easily.

Naruto shrugged vaguely while cocking his head to the side to avoid Sasuke's weapons. "It's hard not to. You guys do it every morning after I catch you cuddling."

"WE DO NOT CUDDLE!" Sasuke exploded from the doorway, face flushed in embarrassment.

"It's cute when he's in denial, isn't it, Naruto?" Kakashi gushed to the blond boy while calmly dodging some more flying shuriken.

"I don't know about 'cute,' but sure," Naruto replied evenly, catching one of Sasuke's kunai in his hand and spinning it before sticking it into his own pouch. "Anyway, we've got a mission so I guess I'll let Sasuke get ready. Looks like he's going to go on another rampage again anyway."

"Don't worry, he won't break anything in his own house," Kakashi said with a cheerful wave as Naruto trekked towards the window.

"Oh, and Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called over his shoulder with a grin, "congrats on finally returning to official adult status. You're going to treat us to ramen tonight, right?"

"Right after I borrow money from you," Kakashi called back as Naruto slipped out the window with a laugh. Once the blond was gone again, he turned back to grin cheekily at Sasuke. "Isn't it great how he knows about us?"

"What the hell are you babbling about? Idiot!" Sasuke scowled, glowering dangerously at the man. "Stop sleep-talking when you're awake!"

"Hmm," Kakashi began musingly, bringing a hand up to his chin. "You're definitely cute when you're in denial."

"I just might kill you before you're back to normal," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, back to the grinning man. As he reached up to tie his headband on, he felt arms circle his waist tentatively. He paused for a moment, but continued to tie his headband on with closed eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Well," the silver haired man began thoughtfully, tilting his head sideways slightly, "I've discovered this bug bite on my neck from running around last night. You should really close that window."

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked rather irritably.

Grinning widely, Kakashi tightened his hold on the teen's waist and muttered deviously into his ear, "I'll just tell everyone it's a kiss mark from you."

Sasuke felt a vein pop in his forehead. Turning to push the man away with an open palm to his forehead, Sasuke scowled darkly, "Do that and I will kill you."

"Wah, Sasuke-chan's scary!"

Heavy knocks on the walls from next door and muffled shouts of complain made Sasuke stop his attempted assault on Kakashi's life. Scowling to himself, he made his way towards the door with Kakashi waving after him. The silver haired man had conveniently forgotten to note to Sasuke that his cheeks were aflame. That and the fact that put on Kakashi's shirt instead of his own and inside out at that.

Oh well, Kakashi thought to himself with an amused grin as Sasuke stormed out the door with a gruff, "Itekimasu." Sasuke was a smart boy. He should realize at some point his shirt was a bit too big for him. Or someone else would point it out to him.

When Sasuke appeared at the bottom of the stairs, Naruto felt his eyebrows shoot upwards. "Uh, Sasuke. Your shirt… It's inside out. And isn't that Kakashi-sensei's shirt?"

Once again, Sasuke felt the urge to destroy the planet. It seemed the headache he had attained from the moment Kakashi first slipped into his house as a child would never fade.

It had taken another week for Kakashi to turn the familiar age of twenty-six, and another two weeks to squeeze in the last six years. By then, Sasuke had been driven absolutely mad, reminiscent of his early days looking aft Kakashi. He had hoped that as Kakashi grew older he would be a little more mature. However, looking back and tacking in consideration what his original personality was, Sasuke realized that had been a frail, frail hope—and quite stupid at that. Kakashi never grew up even if his body did. He never really had a childhood after all. Until now that is.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Kakashi sighed a bit too dramatically as he leaned against the doorframe.

Sasuke was literally on his toes in anticipation to happily kick the man out of his apartment. Sure, having an extra person around to do chores was convenient, but the dark haired teen was positive that if he had to put up with another twenty-four hour round of Kakashi's incessant teasing, unnecessary touching, and cheeky remarks, he may have been tempted into throwing himself out the window. Trying, and failing, to hide his eagerness, Sasuke nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry. I'll find a way around this," Kakashi said cheerfully, petting his former student's head affectionately.

"Please don't," Sasuke replied instantaneously, eyes going wide in terror.

Kakashi's sole visible eye crinkled rather wickedly (implying he was smirking underneath that stupid mask of his, the teen realized with a sense of impending doom), and Sasuke felt a little light of his hope die somewhere in the pit of his stomach. Unease not leaving from where it had settled in his stomach, Sasuke brought a hand up to his forehead and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted as his neighbor opened the door and stepped out to take out the trash.

Apparently, Kakashi thought of this as an excellent opportunity to make his presence properly known in the neighborhood. In a flash, he reached forward and yanked Sasuke towards him. The neighbor turned to look in their direction at the sudden movement, just in time to see Kakashi cheerfully kissing Sasuke's lips through his mask. Jaw dropped open, the neighbor skittered back into the apartment, face reddened and trash forgotten.

Once Sasuke recovered from the shock and an angrily embarrassed flush sprayed across his face, he pushed the man back and shot him his best infuriated death glare while doing his best to wish away the heated redness in his face. Damn Kakashi. Frowning visibly while Kakashi continued to look innocently back at him, Sasuke scowled, "You'll pay for that."

"Ooh, punishment," Kakashi whistled, extending a finger to cheerfully prod Sasuke's cheek. Eye crinkled brightly, he muttered suggestively, "I'll look forward to it."

Sasuke wished he had his weapons on him.

"That reminds me," Kakashi said suddenly, standing upright and bringing a hand to his chin and raising his head thoughtfully.

Although slightly afraid to ask, Sasuke did so slowly, "W-What?"

With almost unreasonable cheer resonating in his voice, Kakashi declared, "I've been thinking about moving for the sake of changing my location."

Sasuke's jaw nearly dropped open. Fearfully, he moaned, "No…"

In a wicked tone, Kakashi commented, "I believe your neighbor on the other side just happened to move out last week. How perfectly convenient."

Sasuke was sure all color had drained from his face by then. He dropped his head against the wood on his door and cursed his bad luck. Why, oh why did Kakashi insist on torturing him? Right after he finally had the man out of his apartment, something like this had to happen.

"I…I hate you."

Kakashi simply grinned, although not visibly thanks to his mask. Lifting his hand, he spun a ring of keys around his fingers.

"Yorushiku onegai shimasu, new neighbor."

And Sasuke inwardly wept.

Owari.

A/N: I...I apologize for how long this took to get out...and the crappy ending at that. I blame Bleach and D.Gray-man. -swtdrp- This was supposed to be posted on October 13th, my birthday, but I ended up getting kidnapped from my desk for about a week, so here it is now. Excuses aside, this brings an end to my KakaSasu reverse!fic at long last :D I hope you've enjoyed! It's been fun to write. I have some ideas for a little one-shot sequel/epilogue thing, but I guess I wait to see if there's anyone actually interested in reading it :3 (If I write it, it won't be posted with this story though.)

Thanks very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading Re-Rejuvenated! Drop a line if you can. ♥ (I'll take it as a late, late birthday present. XD)