A/N: I've been working on another one of my long overdue plot bunnies... I still need to do a lot of editing, but hopefully I'll be able to post it soon :D it's not Kakashi-related, but angsty!
(I have so many plot bunnies. They take turns biting me, ow.)
As Jiraiya promised, his farmer acquaintance turns up at the gate within a few days, muttering under his breath about pervy shinobi. "Jiraiya sent me by," the grizzled man says absently, busy peering curiously over Kakashi's spiky head at bit of land visible in the doorway. He looks as old as the Hokage himself, but slightly more chubby all round. "I'm supposed to meet Hatake Kakashi."
The silver-haired jounin's eye twitches. "And your name is?"
"Tanaka Gakuto," the farmer replies, frowning at Kakashi's mildly irritated tone. He adjusts his hat with a tanned hand and peers down at the teen. "Well kid, are you going to let me in or not?"
"Fine, fine," Kakashi grouches as he shoves the door open wider. "Don't call me kid." His short-sleeved shirt and lack of hitai-ate admittedly makes him look even younger than usual.
Gakuto just shrugs, his eyes lighting up as he takes in the generous spread of land before them. "Whoa, Jiraiya mentioned Hatake-sama had some jutsu to help and all, but this looks great."
"That's good to know," Kakashi says, sounding torn between gladness and exasperation. "I spent a good day working on that." The older man raises an impressed eyebrow and receives a fake eye-smile in return. "I've also set up a barrier jutsu around to keep the temperature constant, like in a greenhouse, so we can plant the crops throughout the year without worrying about the weather."
"Wow kid!" Gakuto exclaims as he slaps Kakashi on the back, making the teen wince. "Hatake-sama must rely on you a lot."
The jounin slumps in defeat and Rin and Sakumo share an amused look. "Yeah. He does."
After the short but chilly walk, the house's blanketing warmth is a relief. The living room looks marginally better now that it has been dusted and aired. While Gakuto seats himself at the dining table, Kakashi drags his feet to the kitchen cabinet to make tea like a good host .
"So, are you Hatake-san's little brother or something?" Gakuto continues cluelessly as he flips through the books about agriculture Kakashi had borrowed from the library.
The loud bang that Kakashi's forehead makes against the thin cabinet door startles his visitor. "Tanaka-san," he says very calmly without turning around.
"Yes?" Gakuto says defensively.
"I am Hatake Kakashi."
There's a beat of silence before Gakuto's awkward, booming laughter shatters it. Kakashi stiffens so much his spine might just snap. "Ah, I'm real sorry Hatake-sama! I'm a little out of touch with shinobi events. With how Jiraiya described you, I didn't expect you to be so, so..."
"Cute," Rin supplies in a chirp.
"Chibi," Sakumo chuckles.
"YOUTHFUL!" Gai burst through the door shouting, making Gakuto jump and Kakashi twitch.
Gai bodily spins Kakashi around and the latter makes a weary, offhand gesture at his spandex-clad rival. "My colleague. He volunteered to do the heavy lifting." Gai's beaming smile nearly blinds the wide-eyed farmer.
"How hip and cool of you to forgive this Unexpected Misunderstanding, my Rival!" Gakuto seems mildly disturbed by the proud tears glimmering in Gai's eyes.
The kettle whistles and Gai grabs it off the stove in an instant, along with three cups, a teapot, and the packet of loose leaf green tea. His whirlwind movement creates a breeze strong enough to ruffle Kakashi's hair, but Kakashi himself seems content enough to let Gai take over the kitchen. "What are we doing today, Rival? Conspiring to bring joy to the world?" He sets the teapot and cups on the table with a flourish, his onyx eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Shall we drop off gifts at the orphanage in most humble secrecy? Or shall we cook a heartwarming meal to encourage the downtrodden?"
"We're just going to figure out which crops to plant," Kakashi sighs as Gai steers him to the dining table and sets a cup of tea before him.
"I see." Gai nods approvingly before spinning to give Gakuto a Nice Guy thumbs up. "Agriculture is indeed a noble calling!" Gai bellows. The poor civilian winces at the eardrum-popping volume and turns to Kakashi with pleading eyes, only to find the other jounin calmly sipping tea through his mask.
"How long do you think he's going to make it?" Rin giggles to Sakumo, who huffs in amusement at Gakuto's grimace of regret.
Hiruzen was pleasantly surprised with Kakashi's initiative, so much that he assigned several of the more responsible genin to help Kakashi. So here Kakashi is three days later, sitting behind a desk piled with contracts that he had drawn up. A small outdoor canopy has been set up just outside the house and a long queue of nervous civilians snakes from it.
"Right, please acknowledge here..." Kakashi murmurs, pointing at the space where the inkan*seal should be stamped. His new tenant fumbles with his inkan as his wife examines the list of possible crop combinations with a contemplative glint in her eye, clearly already making plans. Kakashi has taken the precaution of wearing his full shinobi uniform today, stiff still-new flak jacket and all. He has grown enough to wear it, and with his slanted hitai-ate and gelled spikes of hair, he looks considerably more mature than when he had met Gakuto.
Once the contract is signed, Gai takes over. With a big smile, he shows the people their assigned plots of land and explains everything from the greenhouse jutsu to the why Kakashi wears a mask ("A ninja has to be mysterious!"). His energy-level makes the adults apprehensive, but the kids swarm him, following the jounin around with so much giggling enthusiasm that no-one can really dislike him.
The next family comes up to the desk - a middle-aged couple with a brown-haired child clinging to the lady's leg - and Kakashi looks up again with a smile on his face. Perched on the edge of the desk, Rin gasps quietly. Sakumo's curiosity turning to mild alarm as he takes in her pale countenance. "What's wrong?"
"T-there's someone you should, uh, maybe meet..." Her eyes darts anxiously between the members of the family. Sakumo looks between Rin and the stern-looking man now stepping forward, a suspicion forming in his mind. He shoots her a worried glance but she just shakes her head. "Sorry," she mumbles. "Should have told you earlier but..."
"It's okay," Sakumo says as he gives her back a comforting pat, knowing that the man must be some relative who has given her grief. "You don't have to explain. Do you want to go somewhere else?"
She smiles back weakly and shakes her head. "...it's alright."
The man bows slightly before taking a seat, his wife following beside him. Rin's discomfort aside, Sakumo already doesn't like the calculating way he looks at Kakashi. It's the look of a man who wants to gain an advantage. "Thank you for having us, Hatake-sama."
Kakashi eye-smiles absently, his hands busy reaching for another contract. "Pleasure to meet you both." He sets the thin sheet of paper before them. "If you could write your names...? Thank you."
Then he peers at the inked characters and freezes, his eye widening and his face draining of all colour. "...Nohara-san?"
Nohara Hiroji just nods back, completely unperturbed even though his wife, Mayumi, looks just as uncomfortable as Rin is with the whole situation. Kakashi has had enough guilt for a lifetime for his role in Rin's death, but Hiroji's coolness rubs Sakumo the wrong way. "You are Rin's teammate, right?"
Kakashi's hand trembles as he sets the paper down. "Yes," he admits softly, as if expecting to be punched or strangled any second. His downcast gaze accidentally lands on the child and she hides behind her mother, staring at Kakashi with large, fearful eyes as she clutches at her mother's plain kimono. Now that Sakumo knows about their relation, the child looks quite a bit like Rin, down to the short hair and doe-eyes. Inhaling shakily, Kakashi looks away quickly. He sets his jaw and swallows, looking up with all preparation to accept his due. "You both must be Rin's parents, then?"
Mayumi quickly reveals that she is only Rin's step-mother and the child Rin's half-sister. Rin looks a little upset at they way she's distancing herself, but it's when Hiroji very calmly says "I'm her father" that her expression crumples with equal parts anger and misery.
Kakashi visibly falters and the silence draws out to an uncomfortable length.
"Perhaps you can explain to me the contract?" Hiroji says, shifting in his seat and clearing his throat.
Snapping out of his stupor, Kakashi clears his throat. "O-of course." His gaze flits between Hiroji and Mayumi before dropping back to the table, relief and confusion warring in his eye. "I'm leasing an acre of land to each applicant. The rent only becomes due if the harvest is successful, and if it is, it's only 5% of the money you make selling it on the market. Any food you keep for yourself and your immediate family is not counted." He fumbles with the information sheet about the combination of crops. "You can choose what you want to plant, subject to quotas. There are several genin running around so you can just tell one of them once you've decided."
Humming in agreement, Hiroji takes out his inkan, inks it, and presses it carefully to the contract. The seal comes away with smack. "Sounds good to me."
"Thank you," Kakashi murmurs. He moves to take back the contract but Hiroji holds it back.
The silver-haired teen looks up hesitantly. Rin's father is smiling warmly but his eyes are cold. "It's a bit overdue, but say, would you like to have dinner together?" Rin makes a noise of distress and drags her hands through her hair. Wondering if this is normal teenage angst or if it's really a disaster in the making, Sakumo narrows his eyes at Hiroji's expectant look.
Gulping, Kakashi gives the barest of nods. "I would be glad to. I can cook."
*inkan: a personal seal/stamp used in place of signatures by hand.