Chapter 14.
"This is not working," echoed Hanabi's annoyed voice across the training yard.
Since learning that her affinity was indeed Lightning, she was ecstatic to begin her training. However, the learning process wasn't as rewarding as Hanabi thought it would be. It was deemed too dangerous for the girl to start summoning significant amounts of lightning. Thus, for the past two hours all she'd been doing was holding a watermelon in both hands and attempting to funnel elemental chakra inside. The idea was to blow the fruit up with lightning chakra.
"Keep working," Kakashi ordered. "Blowing it up is the easiest of the watermelon exercises, so you shouldn't really complain."
"Kakashi, you should keep your focus on your own training." Hinata was supervising Kakashi's attempts at performing his new jutsu without hand seals. So far, he had no success in summoning the Purple Lightning without resorting to the additional steps. "There is more than one type of watermelon exercises?"
"Of course," the man said, both agreeing with her orders and answering the question. "Blowing the watermelon is the first step. The second step is making watermelon juice without getting the fruit explode. When you achieve sufficient control of your lightning chakra, you shall begin the second exercise," he explained, frowning; he did manage to reduce the number of hand seals required to just twelve, though.
And so, they spent the whole early morning practicing their new jutsu. By the time noon had arrived, both Hanabi and Kakashi were exasperated to the point of snapping at each other.
"This is boring," drawled the Hyuga girl who long ago gave up on standing and had lied down on the ground instead, holding the watermelon above her stomach. "How long does it normally take?"
"I don't know," Kakashi replied irritatedly. He managed to do it from the first try when he was a kid. "Maybe the reason you can't do it is because you are not trying? Stand up and do it properly."
"Why? It's not like it matters," Hanabi snapped back, "the point is to channel chakra inside, right?"
"Yes. Key word being right. Right means properly, not lying on the ground, and without complaints."
"Like you weren't complaining just a minute ago, pestering Hinata-nee about some nerdy theory stuff."
"I only ask to make sure," the accused man grumbled. After all, what if his hypothesis was incorrect and he's been wasting his time on doing something wrongly from the start?
"Yeah, fifty times! Just admit that you want attention and stop making excuses."
"Alright, that's enough," the bickering pair heard Hinata speak up. "Hanabi, stop annoying Kakashi. Go have a break, you've been doing this for more than four hours already," she ordered her younger sister, before turning to her husband. "Kakashi, I assure you that if you managed to get where you are right now, then what you set out for yourself is possible. And yes, you have not missed anything from that book; and no, I'm not going to check for the fifteenth time, and I don't advise you to do so either."
Hinata facepalmed at her companions' antics. Honestly, those two were sometimes closer in immaturity to each other than Hinata was to either of them. She wasted at least an hour checking the book for any hints that they might have "missed". As if they could overlook anything after completely going over the article for the umpteenth time. She had practically learned its contents by heart. Luckily, Hinata had an idea as to how she could help her perfectionist husband to focus (and finally stop nagging her).
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I bet Hanabi-chan can blow up the watermelon before you figure out how to summon Shiden without hand seals."
The woman didn't need to look at the faces of her companions to see the same competitive expression.
"No way that squirt is doing it before me."
"You're on, old man!"
The two were about to dive back into their work when Hinata stopped them, holding up her hand.
"Let's take a short break and then you can start at the same time. I will cook the favorite meal of the one who manages to succeed first," Hinata offered, feeling bad about manipulating them so shamelessly.
"Oh yeah, banana crumb cake, here I come!"
"A cake is not a full meal, and we will be having miso with eggplant and salt-broiled saury today," Kakashi corrected self-assuredly, to which the girl only responded with sticking out her tongue.
Those two were something else, Hinata thought. Of course, they were going to have both the cake and the soup with saury. They'll have to help her cook, though.
"Why are we having Gray's dish if I won?" said a very much disappointed Hanabi, taking a sip from her broth.
It wasn't until the lunchtime that the younger Hyuga managed to blow up her watermelon. Amidst all the juice and pulp Hanabi celebrated her victory, which surely greatly vexed her competitor. He had only achieved the mastery of his lightning with three seals. To his relief, Hinata still made his favourite dish, which was why they were currently sitting in the guestroom and eating miso with eggplant.
"Your orders weren't mutually exclusive, so I thought why not make both," Hinata replied.
"Well, I don't mind oneesan's cooking, but it's kind of unfair that he is not eating the cake," the girl pointed at Kakashi, clearly determined to get on his nerves.
"Come on, you'll get more if I don't have to eat it," the man tried to dismiss, engrossed in his beloved miso.
"Hanabi is right. You should be a good example and eat your food."
"Not you too, Hinata!"
Most of the meal passed with Kakashi and Hanabi arguing back and forth, but eventually the man gave in. He hated sweets, but he couldn't say no to his wife's reasoning. To his surprise and Hinata's satisfaction, the cake wasn't so bad – not too sweet but still packing all the flavor.
Kakashi was about to retire to his study to continue his work on Shiden when he sensed someone approach the house. They did not enter, merely standing outside, only barely revealing their presence. From experience, Copy Nin knew only one type of people who do that – black ops.
"It seems I am needed," Kakashi said, motioning to leave.
Both Hinata and Hanabi tensed. Their Hyuga perceptiveness was showing, he thought, bewildered at the twin-like behavior of the two.
"It's fine," he reassured. "It's probably just a message."
With those words, he left the house to check if it was indeed the case.
True enough, there stood a lone figure of a Root operative. Root was Konoha's shadow paramilitary organization, established by Danzou and dissolved by the Fourth Hokage, before being reestablished again. They did all of the Village's dirty work, things even ANBU were not qualified nor comfortable enough doing. Seeing one at your doorstep was usually a bad omen. Unless you are one of them, that is.
"What happened? Need me to fix the plumbing again?" joked the Copy Nin, approaching his sudden visitor.
Clearly he needed to work on his jokes, as said visitor ignored the humor, proceeding to relay the message instead.
"There is a commotion in Zone 1. Your assistance is being required."
And just like that, the messenger left. There is just no time for protocols with Root. Everything they do, every second of their very existence is devoted to the Village. Their loyalty to the cause, however skewed, was unquestionable. Too bad their leader could not boast of same.
"Zone 1, huh," muttered Kakashi, starting to move towards the direction. A commotion in Root language meant a serious fight at the very least and a downright slaughter at worst. "And here I thought it was going to be quick."
While the two were talking, Hinata and Hanabi naturally took to eavesdropping. Glad that Kakashi taught Hanabi how to conceal her presence, Hinata listened.
She couldn't make anything, though. Perhaps that was the reason they weren't spotted – they were simply too far out of the hearing range.
"Neechan, what do you think happened?"
"I don't know…" the elder Hyuga replied, disappearing behind her room's door before coming back with two sets of weapons pouches, "But I feel like we need to help."
Hinata activated her Byakugan. Normally, she wouldn't use it in a village full of people out of respect to their privacy. However, in times like these the 10-kilometer radius of unobstructed vision was more than welcome. A quick glance and she located him. Kakashi was rapidly closing in towards the Hokage Mountain. What could possibly be wrong for him to sprint at such speed?
Then she saw it.
"Oh no," Hinata muttered under her breath.
Up ahead, where her husband was headed was the Academy. Focusing her gaze there, she saw a bunch of students huddled up behind their teachers, standing opposite to an angry looking man. By the looks of it, those kids were in trouble.
A few minutes and thousands of meters away from the house, Kakashi arrived at a sight of a stalemate between a group of kids and their teachers and a very pissed Root ninja. He immediately recognised Kasai's burly frame and a sigh almost escaped his lips. Of course, it had to be him of all people. He didn't even need to know why Manobu was there, threatening academy students. It was probably some poorly thought remark from one or the other party that sparked this conflict.
Having stopped some distance before the scene, Kakashi spent a few minutes properly assessing the situation. So far it seemed that none of them had spotted him, which was good. From the looks of it, peace between two sides was close to an end. What in the world was someone like Kasai Manobu doing at the Academy of all places?
Copy Nin could understand why Root recruited his help, even relieved that they did so. Kasai simply did not listen to reason, and unless it is Danzou who gave the order, the man won't move a muscle. Kakashi could hear loud and angry voices from their direction. Tensions were rising with each passing second, and Copy Ninja prepared himself for the worst. Danzou's tolerance of Kasai's vagrancy could only mean that the rowdy mercenary was an exceptional warrior. If things escalated any further, there'd definitely be a fight. Copy Nin had to consider his options.
Even from quite a distance their animosity could be seen clearly. From Kasai's posture to the tone of his voice, everything told Kakashi that the brute was about to explode. All it took was a spark, and Kakashi was contemplating waiting for it. If he intervened now, who was to say that a similar situation won't happen later? A previous incident with the vendor came to his mind - at that time he had resolved the conflict peacefully, but Kasai successfully returned to his violent ways after a short visit to the detention center. No, if he wanted to stop the man once and for all, he'd have to wait until the mercenary lost it and lashed out. All it took was some killing intent from the man and Kakashi could justify to Danzou killing him on the spot. The problem is, was he willing to risk someone's life, a child's no less?
While Kakashi was examining his options, the talking got more heated. It seemed Iruka took it upon himself to attempt an apology for his charges' behavior. Ever the peacekeeper. Although a worthy attempt, it wasn't one Kakashi needed. Where was Konohamaru when you needed him? As if to look for the boy, Copy Ninja instinctively reached out his senses and his eyes widened in shock when he felt two familiar chakra.
Why were they here?! Suddenly stakes had gotten impossibly high for the Jounin Commander.
"Why are you apologizing? He is nothing but a bully!" Hanabi's loud voice could be heard from behind Iruka, causing everyone to turn their heads to the girl.
Hinata was there too. When the pair arrived Kakashi could feel his heart skip a beat. How could he not sense them earlier? It seemed Hanabi's stealth skills had improved. For some reason, instead of being happy that Kasai got provoked again, Kakashi wished they hadn't come and weren't the ones doing the provoking. Hanabi continued speaking, aggravating Kasai, no doubt.
He didn't have time to lament on it, as a wave of killing intent swept across the courtyard. Danzou's lieutenant, angered by the little Hyuga's words finally snapped, bounding towards her. Iruka, who was standing between the two was effortlessly thrown aside from his way. Kakashi didn't even have time to think before his body moved on its own. In a splitsecond he was standing beside Hanabi, his hand outstretched, Kasai's larger one held tightly in its grip. It was mere centimeters before the kunai in it connected with Hanabi's throat.
Kakashi felt another wave of murderous intent, but this time it came from within. Using the enemy's surprise to his advantage, Copy Nin struck Kasai's own throat with his free hand, sending the man staggering back. The hit should have broken the bastard's windpipe at the very least, but what Kakashi knew from experience was that tough guys like Kasai did not die easily. Not waiting to be proven right, Kakashi immediately lunged to finish the job. To his surprise, not only was his follow-up blow blocked, but Kasai had enough in him to release some furious remarks along the way! If the strangled wheeze that resulted from his injury could be called speaking.
"I'll ki' ya'!" his enemy snarled coughing up blood, hands already moving to form seals, seemingly completely unaffected by the state of his throat.
Even without the Sharingan Kakashi was adept enough at ninjutsu to recognise the pattern of a mid-range offensive Fire technique. All jutsu had a unique sequence of hand seals, but many could be grouped into classes based on the pattern of seals. As such, even though Kakashi did not know the exact technique, he could preemptively summon a Water Wall to counter his opponent's Fire Release attack.
Using the steam that rose from the collision of two elements as a cover, Kakashi leapt forward once again, this time with Raikiri ablaze. Unfortunately, his attack once again failed to connect as Kasai managed to dodge at the last moment.
It seemed the man was quite fast despite his large frame. His enemy smiled wickedly, showing bloodstained teeth. Words must have hurt him too much by that point to express his smug satisfaction.
Kakashi felt something was off immediately after Kasai leaped away from his Raikiri. His instincts did not betray him as his heightened hearing sensed a characteristic fizzle of a paper bomb coming from his back. Without a second thought Kakashi ripped his jounin vest off and released a burst of Wind chakra from his body, sending the piece of clothing with an explosive tag on it flying away from him. In turn, the blast that followed had sent him flying. Absently, Kakashi admired Kasai's quick thinking. Sneakily attaching an exploding tag to his vest while simultaneously dodging his attack was a nice move that required considerable skill.
Alhough Copy Nin's experience managed to save him from getting blown away, it couldn't compensate for his stupidity. Using Lightning Cutter without the Sharingan was completely irresponsible, yet he still resorted to his signature technique in the heat of the moment. Although his instincts had saved him just now, they were the thing that put him in danger in the first place. That thought dashed through his alert mind for a briefest of moments right after the explosion.
Hinata and Hanabi's tense forms flashed in Kakashi's periphery when he was thrown away in their direction by the shockwave.
Expectedly, Kasai took the moment of Copy Nin's disorientation to launch an attack of his own.
As soon as Hinata saw the Lightning Blade in Kakashi's hand she felt worry flood her whole being. He knew better than to use it like that, against an opponent like Manobu. When the explosion burst a few meters beside Kakashi she could feel her heart skip a beat.
"Sis, we need to help," she heard Hanabi yell, worry in her sister's tone mirroring her own state at the moment.
They had but a few seconds to react before Kasai released another burst of fire at Kakashi. And this time it looked like the jounin won't be able to escape it.
Kakashi barely landed on his feet as a powerful surge of flames closed in on him. He expected it, but the explosive attack that preceded it had been too close for him to recover in time. Still stunned from the blast, he couldn't react properly to any attack that was surely coming his way. He coated his body with chakra in a desperate attempt to mitigate as much damage as possible and prepared for the worst.
Weirdly, the impact never came.
The ringing in his ears from the explosion could not prevent him from hearing the powerful whoosh around and yet, Copy Nin didn't feel the agonizing pain of his skin getting singed by his enemy's jutsu. All he felt was a little bit hot, but nowhere near as hot as it should be. Once the blinding effect of the explosion flash started to subside, Kakashi immediately noticed a silhouette standing right beside him. It didn't take the man long to focus his gaze and recognize Hinata's gracious form. Instantly he realized what happened, even though the ambient hum and his surprise had made it difficult to think straight.
While Kakashi was still recuperating, Hinata spun in her clan's famous technique, deflecting the flames and shielding him from the fire that had engulfed the barrier completely by this point. He saw her lips move, he didn't need to hear or read her lips to know what she was saying – 'Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation'. Kakashi smiled. What was it with ninjas shouting the names of their techniques away, he couldn't help but wonder? Regardless, the sight from inside of his wife's Kaiten got to be one of the most mesmerizing he'd ever seen.
Alas, Kakashi had no time to relish the swirling patterns of chakra and flames, as the ringing in his ears had quitened down enough for him to return back to battle. Once the fire around them petered out, Hinata made a quick once over of his condition, before nodding and jumping aside, to where her sister was distracting the enemy with ranged attacks. Two siblings now stood side by side a short distance away, ready to attack but not eager to. Someone had to make sure nobody got under the crossfire, afterall.
"Well, it seems the ladies are giving me a chance to redeem myself," Kakashi spoke, addressing the man whose attention immediately turned back on him.
He only got a grunt and another fireball at himself in response.
Prepared this time, Kakashi summoned an Earth Wall. He followed it up by using chakra to propel pieces of the wall towards his enemy. Manobu had no trouble dodging the projectiles, as the rock bullets shattered on ground behind him.
Copy Nin was restricted in his options due to the fight being at the Academy, where a lot of potential bystanders could get caught in the middle of it. The only reason why nobody was hurt yet was the Hyuga sister's prompt action. Everytime something flew towards the general direction of the school they used Kaiten to repel it. Aside from them, nobody had intervened yet. Clearly, there wasn't anybody qualified enough to stop the fight between two high ranking shinobi quickly enough. As efficient as Root were, they were too passive when it came to their superiors. Years of Danzou's conditioning made them hesitant to act against those they've recognised as their leaders. Kakashi could only hope that Iruka and others had evacuated the students by now.
The fight continued, with neither side gaining an upper hand. Hinata and Hanabi stood ready to deflect any stray attack flying towards the building or students who were being evacuated. These kids might be future ninja, but as of now they were just kids. Emptying an entire school full of children was bound to be slow. Especially when some of said children were too curious for their own good, trying to sneak a peak of the battle that was unfolding on their schoolyard.
After a particularly frustrating taijutsu exchange, Kakashi decided it was enough. He had to finish it asap if he didn't want to end up accidentally killing someone as a side casualty. Concentrating, he pulled at the Lightning nature within him to make sure what he was planning to do was going to work. Sensing the chakra readily respond, he smirked.
"Alright, Kasai, let's end this."
Said man spat out some blood in response, preparing himself for the final showdown.
As if sensing his opponent's intentions, the two lunged towards each other, kunai in hand. Blades collided, metal sending sparks around the point of contact. Almost at the same time Kakashi thrust his free hand forward, only for it to get caught by Kasai's larger one. The man predictably smirked, his eyes darting towards their locked hands. Kakashi followed his gaze and could see a chakra-resistant explosive tag wrapped around his knuckle. The bastard hid the tag sticky side up in his palm, so that he could easily attach it on him. Unfortunately for Kasai, Kakashi wasn't the type of person to fall twice for the same trap. Manobu's smirk fell as he tried to remove his palm from Kakashi's knuckle.
"What's the matter, can't take your hands off?" asked Kakashi. It was his turn to smirk. The tag was set to explode in four seconds, presumably to allow Kasai enough time to escape.
"Wha' ha' ya done? Why can' I"–he futilely tugged his hand, trying to detach from Kakashi–"Bo' gon' die!"
"We'll see about that," Kakashi replied, locking gazes with his enemy one last time.
A mere second before the blast, Purple Lightning burst from his hand, disintegrating the paper bomb and spreading to Kasai's body. Smell of ozone permeated the air, as well as the smell of burnt flesh. Even after receiving such damage, his opponent was able to utter his last words.
"The fuck…"
Kasai's lifeless body fell on the ground, and Kakashi's a little livelier one followed suit a second later. It was impossible with any other of his jutsu, but not Shiden. He specifically designed it to overcome his previous creations' deficiencies. One of them being the tunnel vision, another – their inability to deactivate complex seals. Before his discarded vest exploded, he took notice of the explosive on it. He was no fuinjutsu expert, but he picked up a thing or two from his sensei and Kushina-sama. The pattern on the seals indicated protection from the elements, which was a typical preventive measure in the field. Such an adjustment made the explosive tag resistant to things that would normally destroy the paper, like moisture or heat. The seals looked sophisticated and Copy Nin had an idea that Kasai improved them to withstand elemental chakra release as well, making them virtually indestructible. That is, unless a jutsu that had initially been designed for that purpose was used.
Kakashi chuckled, not believing his luck. With Purple Lightning, he took his time and developed it into a jutsu that could deactivate chakra-resistant seals, an ability he felt was most valuable for a technique that he was going to be using without hand seals. However, he would have never imagined that it would win him a fight the very first time he attempted to use it in battle. It all worked out in the end only because he managed to summon his Shiden without hand seals. It gave him an element of surprise and allowed the jounin to lure his opponent into a trap.
The victor lifted his head from the ground momentarily to assess his surroundings. Fortunately, the building was undamaged, and none of the children seemed to have been caught up in the fight. The courtyard was the only thing ruined. A sigh that came out of his masked lips contained equal amounts of relief and exhaustion.
Kakashi was tired. He took a quick check on himself to see if there were any significant injuries. Satisfied that there were none, he plopped back on the ground, fully intending to rest for a while.
"That was amazing!" he heard Hanabi's loud voice from across the yard, and from the sound of it, it was rapidly getting nearer. "You did it without the hand seals, and it was, like, only your sixty third try!"
Copy Nin closed his eyes, hoping the girl will get the clue and quieten a bit. Luckily for him, there was another Hyuga who was much more empathetic to a man who had just experienced an explosion up close.
"Come now, Hanabi, let him rest," Hinata said, already scanning his body for any injuries.
"Alright," the girl conceded, not unkindly. Her patience was only long enough to last for a couple of seconds, though, "but why couldn't that guy you fought remove his hand from yours? It looked like as if it was glued. I saw him holding you, but your hand couldn't hold his."
"Ah, that," Kakashi recalled, standing up to take the hand of Kasai's corpse. "It was a good old wire string." With those words, he unrapped the cords from the charred arm, putting his equipment back inside the pouch.
"Cool."
"If you want, I can teach you to use the wires," he told her. "I assure you, it is a very useful skill." He remembered all the times wire strings saved his life and secured him victory in battle. A nifty little trick like binding your enemy with invisible rope was always good to learn.
"Really?" Hanabi looked at him hopefully, before finally coming to her senses. "I mean, yeah sure, why not," she said, in a much more leveled tone.
Masked jounin nodded, then looked at Hinata. "And what about you?"
"I'd be happy to learn, too," she said with a soft smile, before returning to his wounds.
"It's settled then. A schedule for me: perfect Shiden; teach Hanabi Lightning release and teach you two how to use wires."
"That's some tight schedule you've got, Hatake," Hinata giggled, to which Kakashi could only scratch the back of his head sheepishly.
"Not your flirting again!" Hanabi whined, causing her sister to blush and once again bumble in denial. Kakashi's confused chuckle did not make things easy for the elder Hyuga.
"Now then, I need to take care of the body and we–"
A shrill gasp cut off his words. Everyone turned to see a shocked girl, no older than six. Tears were threatening to spill from her big round eyes. It seemed the scorched dead body of Kasai was too much for the young ninja-to-be to handle. Behind her, other kids were coming up, curious as to what could elicit such a response from their peer. They were promptly denied by Iruka, who expertly shepherded the whole group as far away from the gruesome sight as possible.
A young woman, presumably a teacher, had noticed the scene and quickly came up to help usher the girl away, sending a glare towards the Copy Nin.
Finally, Root agents arrived. They did not seem to require any orders as they wordlessly took the body and left as suddenly as they appeared. Kakashi had no doubts that they witnessed everything and knew that Manobu was the instigator and had to be put down to save Konoha from a huge scandal.
"These guys seriously creep me out," Hanabi complained. She turned to Hinata after a small pause, "It's done. Can we go now?"
"Not so fast," they heard a furious ringing voice. It was the same female teacher that took the girl away. "You started a battle on the Academy territory, practically destroyed our courtyard and to top it off, scared one of the students! Do you even realize what kind of trauma can a child get after seeing what Yuzu saw today?" the woman poked Kakashi in the chest.
Images of his father lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood flashed in Copy Nin's mind.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
The look in Kakashi's eyes when he said that did not escape Hinata's attention. He suddenly looked numb, as if he went inside for a second, before resurfacing back with an almost distant expression.
"Regardless of administrative trifles, someone has to explain whatever the hell has happened here!" the teacher didn't back down, likely missing the shift in the masked man's mood.
"Don't worry, I'll personally be writing a report on this case," Kakashi assuaged, mentally trying to quench the irritation of his own. "It'll never happen again, I assure you."
The look in the teacher's eyes warned that he'd better be damn sure it didn't. Seeing that there was nothing else she was going to get from the man, she turned around and began walking off.
"Yuzu's parents are going to be here any minute," she dropped at last, stopping for a moment. "They are civilians. Someone has to explain all of this to them."
With those words, the woman strode away to help the rest of the Academy staff direct the children away from the scene. Being ninjas, the students really did their best to make the process as chaotic for the teachers as possible.
"Who the hell does she think she is?" Hanabi exclaimed. "Seriously, the bad guy died – no big deal."
Even though Hanabi herself wasn't particularly comfortable with someone dying right in front of her eyes, she was a ninja! She understood why certain things had to happen. The girl should have known better than enrolling into a ninja academy if she was going to react like that.
Kakashi smiled, ruffling the girl's brown locks. "She is six, barely Academy student, Hanabi-chan. Don't be too hard on her."
"Yeah," Hinata agreed, sighing. "Poor thing was probably shocked more than anything."
"Still, that woman was way too disrespectful. Doesn't she know who you are?"
"She probably didn't recognize me by sight," the masked ninja replied. "She is a literature teacher, you see."
"Literature?" both sisters asked in unison, surprise clear in their voices.
"Her name is Fukuda Chiyo. She is new to teaching but she is well acquainted with the shinobi world – half of her family are ninja."
"So, she is a ninja?"
"No. Only a teacher." Kakashi's gaze wandered to the fearful yet somewhat excited faces of academy students that were being led away by their teachers. "I know what you think. A literature teacher in a ninja academy? Sounds crazy, right?"
"Well," Hinata said, "it does seem unusual. But I think it's not a bad idea."
"You do?" now he was the one to sound surprised.
"Yes well, all of your ideas sound crazy but are actually pretty great," the Hyuga giggled.
"How do you know it was mine?" now he was truly astonished.
"Come on, Gray-hair, we can put two and two together," Hanabi chimed in. "Now tell us why in the world did you get a literature teacher in the ninja school?"
"The world needs to change," he provided, pensive. Receiving questioning stares, Kakashi started to elaborate. "The world is changing. People, shinobi, are not the same as they were twenty or even ten years ago. Here we teach our young war," he gestured at the Academy around them. "The least we could do is to teach them how to make peace as well."
He remembered his class back when he was in Academy. Not killers yet but warriors, certainly. His eyes landed on a group of students just outside the Academy entrance; although nervous, he could see from their eyes they had not a care in the world. Children. Weaker, perhaps. But happier too.
Hinata understood. He wanted to adapt the conditions for future generations. Instead of changing the children, Kakashi looked to change the system. In times of relative peace like after this War, it was not only reasonable but also necessary to change for the better.
Literature, art, music, science – those were going to be the driving force of progress in the future. Kakashi recognized it, and he was trying to make sure to bring the same culture up in their youngest. So that the future generations will compete with knowledge rather than power, will create rather than destroy. To Hinata, there was no man she was proud of more than her husband.
"I told you," she smiled triumphantly, "it is a great idea."
"I am glad you share my view. I am also glad the Kage of other great villages share it too," Kakashi smirked. That initiative was one of the few ones he truly felt proud of.
"Get out, you guys are going to actually change everything!?"
Sometimes Hanabi simply did not realize how cute her reactions were, Kakashi thought, messing up her hair once again.
"Yes. As per new regulations, the age at which a person can apply for Chunin is going to be twelve years. Also, a ninja won't be able to receive a mission higher than D-rank if they are not chunin. We hope to increase the age threshold gradually, to make the transition smooth."
"That's a very… optimistic idea," remarked Hanabi, obviously not totally convinced.
"I know, there are many potential loopholes and issues with our new regulations. There are quite a few exceptions, too. All of that will be addressed eventually." Kakashi turned to see the academy girl's mother arrive, "In any case, there will be months before these rules come into effect. We have just finalized it all at the last Kage summit."
Hinata watched Kakashi formally apologize to the girl's mother and then the girl herself. Unlike her teacher, the mother knew who Kakashi was and did not press the issue any further. The girl herself, Hinata thought her name was Yuzu, looked even more terrified when Kakashi approached. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to let the girl know that it was you who brutally murdered a person whose dead body she saw just minutes ago.
The incident had seemed to cause quite a commotion. From all around, parents and students alike had gathered to get explanations as to why the Academy yard was demolished and their kids so scared. Kakashi ended up apologizing to everyone.
Hinata could hear the angry mutters. Spurred by their numbers, they acted more aggressively than if they had been alone. She saw the faces of the parents and their kids, disgust and indignation on the formers' and fear on the latters', sometimes both on either. How could they not understand? He saved their kids, he should be the one receiving gratitude, not giving apologies. She looked at her husband, urging him to look back at her. She wanted to convey her support, but Kakashi's head had remained hung low throughout the ordeal.
Finally, they seemed to tire chewing him out, so they left them alone.
"He is just a mindless executioner, a relic of the past," Hinata heard one smug, older looking kid say loudly. "Couldn't even defeat that guy without getting help from his girls." His friends seemed to share the opinion, smirking blithely, shamelessly provoking the jounin.
"What did you say?" Hanabi strode up to him, righteous fury in each step.
"I said–"
The teenager couldn't finish, as Hanabi's fist collided with his nose before another pompous snort could come out of it. The other boys watched shocked as their friend was knocked down by a considerably smaller girl. The now not so smug looking victim was about to retaliate, but one look into the young Hyuga's eyes made him reconsider.
"If you weren't a girl, I'd show you," the boy said rather lamely, holding his bloody nose. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."
"Yeah, more like if I weren't a Hyuga and weren't stronger than you, wuss."
Hanabi felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning back, she saw Hinata's proud face. For once, Hinata didn't want to scold her baby sister for her violence. "We should go, too."
The trio was about to go their way when they were stopped by the same teacher who talked to them earlier, Fukuda-sensei.
"What does she need now," Hinata heard her sister mutter through gritted teeth.
As if she heard Hanabi, the woman spoke in a formal but much less harsh way than before "I just wanted to apologize." She turned to Kakashi. "These students are the Academy's responsibility, and their conduct was highly insensitive and disrespectful, not to mention inappropriate. Especially considering that your actions were to defend the students in the first place. So, on behalf of Konoha Academy, please accept our apology," she bowed low. It was clear that the woman took her responsibilities seriously.
"It's fine, they are just some kids," Copy Nin shrugged.
"Stupid kids," Hanabi interjected.
How many similar remarks Kakashi had to shrug away like this, Hinata wondered? His nonchalance might have fooled everyone else, but Hinata saw his expression moments ago when those boys were verbally abusing him. It looked like he was shaking, balling his fists so hard that his gloves started to make sounds.
"I also talked with Iruka-sensei…" Fukuda seemed to hesitate, before continuing. "He informed me of your… past tragedy." She was clearly talking about his father's suicide. "My behavior was even more insensitive than those boys'. Please forgive me," she bowed again. "He also told me that it was you who recommended me as a teacher to this school. That makes me feel even more ashamed."
"You don't have to feel ashamed for being right."
That statement made everyone look up at him in surprise.
"One's tragedy does not excuse one to cause same pain to others," Kakashi continued. "You were looking out for your student, and I understand that."
Suddenly unable to face the masked man, Chiyo turned her head away towards the Academy. Bright faces of children passing through its gates every day were what made the building look so warm and alive to her eyes.
"I love children. I love teaching," the teacher said softly with a wistful smile. "Before this job I had no purpose…" her smile turned into a frown of guilt. "I suppose I should thank you as well. For giving me purpose."
"You should thank only your own merit," the masked man countered seriously. "You seemed like a good person for this job, so I suggested you. Now I see that you are perfect for it. I am glad I have entrusted you with these children. Please continue caring for them as I'm sure you always do."
A warm flush rosed the young teacher's cheeks. This man seemed so kind! Despite his own ruined childhood, he didn't seem to grow bitter. He tried to do right by the village's children. And he seemed genuinely remorseful for today's incident. He didn't look like a ruthless dirty old man her relatives described him as.
"Th–thank you," she stammered. "I– I should be going," she gestured towards other teachers calling her.
"See you later," was Kakashi's cheerful reply after the hurried woman.
It was time for the three of them to go back as well.
Finally, the three ninjas arrived home, and right before the dinner time! The whole way there Kakashi was somewhat subdued, which didn't go unnoticed by his two companions. Even now he just mechanically sat at the table, when there even was no food cooked to be served to begin with.
Naturally, Hanabi made a ridiculous assumption that he had a crush on the female teacher they've just met. Something she quietly teased Hinata with during the entirety of their walk. Sure, that woman was pretty, and kind. She was a literature teacher, too. So they'd probably get along really well, he liked those Icha Icha books after all, and– Wait a minute. Why was Hinata overthinking it so? Surely, she knew better than allow Hanabi's joking affect her judgement.
What mattered now was Kakashi's state, not her weird thoughts. With that in mind, Hinata came up to the table and gently but firmly tugged her still unmoving husband to the sofa.
"Something is bothering you," she said immediately when they touched the soft surface.
"It's nothing," Kakashi tried to dismiss, as usual. The fact that he avoided looking in her eyes didn't escape his wife.
"Kakashi," she inclined closer to him, attempting to catch his gaze. "Remember what you said to me? No hiding feelings from each other, right?"
That seemed to do the trick. The jounin exhaled guiltily, resigned to obey his own promise.
"It's just that everything they've said today is affecting me, I guess," he let out a humorless chuckle, clearly disappointed in himself. Which, Hinata bet, did nothing to improve his mood.
"Kakashi…"
"I know it is silly, but it feels so hard," he closed his eyes, letting out another sigh. "Just so hard…" he repeated, voice shaky.
'So hard to keep doing everything I do,' was left unsaid.
It was at that moment that the great Copy Nin seemed the most vulnerable to Hinata. Eyes downcast, head hung low, an infinitely tired expression marring his face. It was the face of a person drowning under the other people's problems. It was in moments like these that Hinata got reminded that Kakashi was not a machine that could perfectly perform every task it was set to. He was human, like the rest of them, and even he had moments where his seemingly indestructible image crumpled, leaving the raw emotion underneath.
"Kakashi," Hinata put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Not thinking long, she did the same with her other hand with his other shoulder. "Remember what you told me? Only opinions of those who matter to you matter."
"Like you and Hanabi?" he asked, an almost childish intonation in his voice. Sometimes Kakashi had a way with words. Other times, like right now, he could be adorably dorky.
"Yes," she smiled, "like me and Hanabi."
"What she did back there…" a smile graced the jounin's maskless face upon recalling the little Hyuga's actions earlier at the Academy. "I don't know why, but I feel honored," he tried to make a joke.
"You should be," Hinata let out a chuckle, hoping that whatever was troubling her husband was finally letting off. "I feel proud of her." There was that weird gleam in her eyes. "I'm proud of you too, Kakashi. As you should be of yourself."
That lone sentence uttered from his wife's mouth had deeply resonated within Copy Ninja's very soul. Kakashi already felt uncharacteristically emotional in light of today's events. But learning just what was that gleam in Hinata's eyes felt like all the wind got knocked out of his lungs. She was proud. He couldn't remember the last time someone told him they were proud of him. All the more reason to feel like a scumbag.
"You are wrong," he sighed, making her smile drop in a confusion. "If you knew just what kinds of things–"
"I don't care!" he heard Hinata shout. "I know what was expected of a ninja before. You did all of that. All of that and more. For the sake of the Village!"
She lowered her hands from his shoulders, taking his gloved ones in turn.
"These hands," she choked out, caressing the calloused fingertips, "you sullied them with blood and surrendered them to the poison that was the shinobi world! But you never gave up your heart! Your soul and your mind remain pure from all this filth! Even after so many years… So, don't tell me you are undeserving because you've killed!" Hinata clenched his hands in her own, her heart breaking as he visibly winced at her every word. "It is because you did all that that I think you deserve peace more than anyone." She looked in his eyes, tears freely falling from her own. "After all, you spilled blood to bring about a new age."
Hinata could see Kakashi's eyes begin to glisten after her monologue, heard him take in a sharp breath.
"Don't you understand?" she pushed, whispering, beckoning him to see what she saw so clearly. Her quiet sorrow landed on his palms, making wet spots on his gloves. "You spilled blood so that kids like Hanabi didn't have to. They can smile and laugh and love… They can afford to be weak and enjoy it because of people like you!"
"Hinata, you don't understand…"
"Then tell me."
Hearing this, he screwed up his eyes, closing them so hard that it was almost painful.
Added to everything that had been said before, those three words carried so much meaning. Kakashi knew that even after telling her his every shameful secret she wasn't going to change her opinion. That gave him strength more than anything.
"I– When I arrived at the scene," Kakashi began, somewhat getting a grip on himself, "I knew that unless Kasai attacked anyone, I wouldn't be able to get rid of him for good. He was Danzou's favourite, afterall. So, I waited until someone brave enough, or stupid enough provoked him. I was willing to risk an innocent's life to destroy an enemy," his voice had become so much heavier.
"Oh, Kakashi…"
"And that's not all," he said, before she could say anything else; before she could erase his guilt with her kind words and her gentle smile. "When Hanabi and you arrived... I don't know, it happened so fast…" Kakashi was staring blankly at her shoulder, not willing to look her in the eye. "Kasai attacked her, and I– I just snapped. I moved almost instinctively to stop him. That was when I realized: I would've never allowed myself to risk your or Hanabi's lives like I risked those other people's." The masked man rubbed his face, exhaustion emanating from every sound he made. "And that makes me the biggest scum of them all. I was willing to risk another's life, but I could not even consider doing the same with people close–"
Kakashi couldn't finish his sentence as he felt Hinata's arms wrap around him. His face was buried against her soft body, her rapid heartbeat not so distinct from his own. A wave of familiar emotions washed over him, invoking feelings buried deep beneath.
"I am still proud of you," he heard her soft, reassuring voice from above his head.
It was too much, Kakashi thought, feeling his control slip away. She was too much.
Hinata smiled ruefully when she felt her shirt getting wet. With each rise of her chest, each shake of his body she felt Kakashi release pain accumulated throughout the years. Only him would break his own principles to save someone he cared about. She understood how he must have felt like a total hypocrite. Especially since his famous credo was protecting a comrade no matter what. Risking an innocent's life was something that could break Kakashi if he were to fail and said innocent died in the process. He must be disgusted with himself, Hinata thought, stroking his silver hair. However, she herself would never feel that emotion directed at her husband. To her, he was a hero who simply always tried to choose the hardest path.
"You are not scum," she whispered soothingly. "You just try to burden the whole world on your shoulders."
She was confident in his abilities to save someone in time before they were struck. He was trying to save many by risking one. A noble cause. However, he forgot, like he often did, that he was a human too. Sometimes there was no right or wrong – just action and consequences. Who's to say that Kakashi was ruthless? And who's to say that he was too soft?
Still holding him in her embrace, Hinata raised her head to see Hanabi's shocked face. Her little sister quickly stepped beside the sofa, where the pair of adults were situated. She stood there for a few moments, looking lost, before slowly raising her hand and putting it on Kakashi's back in a comforting manner. His body tensed at first, but gradually relaxed back, his breathing slowly becoming steady again.
The three of them remained like that, sharing their closeness until Kakashi's exhausted body and mind surrendered to peaceful sleep. Gently turning his limp frame around, Hinata placed his head on her lap, pleasantly noting that there no longer were signs of tears on his face. Chuckling humorlessly at the fact that in his frazzled state Kakashi forgot to remove his headband, Hinata carefully untied the object from her husband's head and set it aside. Brushing away the gray strands, Hinata bent down and placed a soft kiss on Kakashi's forehead. She continued caressing his hair, absently sensing the weight shift on the couch.
Turning, Hinata smiled as her sister finished pulling up Kakashi's legs onto the couch. The little Hyuga then sat on the floor beside the sleeping man, resting her head centimeters away from his relaxed hand as if afraid to wake him if she were to accidentally touch him. There was an unspoken resolution in Hanabi's eyes before she too closed them and went to sleep, right there at the foot of Kakashi's couch.
Hinata smiled knowing perfectly well that Hanabi saw and heard every detail of her and Kakashi's conversation. She smiled knowing that Hanabi understood. And she smiled feeling her affection for the man in her arms grow with each passing second.
Hinata promised herself that she'll do everything in her power to protect her two most precious people who were currently sleeping peacefully on the old couch in this room.