A/N: I AM SO SORRY. I intended to update four entire days ago, but life got really busy for me all at once. I promise this won't be a trend :(
On the topic of the story itself, I'm kinda bummed that last chapter flopped. Really expected more feedback on that one specifically, but then again, a lot of this fic is kinda repetitive thematically, so I do understand. I won't drag this out much longer. I'll be getting to the last leg soon enough.
Time for chapter 58
Enjoy!
Kakashi struggled up from his chair as a knock came at his front door. Even ten days removed from his massive expenditure, walking took considerable effort. It had been well worth the price, but life had been awkward and slow-moving, quite literally, ever since. Doing his best to not force those waiting at his steps to wait, the Jonin made his way to the door as briskly as he could. Opening it a moment later, he was rewarded with a sight he had been looking forward to for several hours.
"Guy rounded you up, am I right?" he asked his genin, all three of whom were gathered just beyond the door. Naruto, who stood between his teammates, gave a thumbs up in response. Stepping aside, Kakashi beckoned them all inside, to which they obliged.
"You don't get many visitors, do you?" Satsuki guessed, glancing around as they entered the living room just beyond the entryway. The Jonin sighed and flopped down in his chair once again. He had expected such comments. His furnishings were rather barren, to say the least. He had more than sufficient funds for more lavish fixtures, or even a larger house if he saw fit, but he couldn't be bothered with either option. They were unnecessary.
"I'm not much of a host." he replied, watching with amusement as Satsuki attempted to hide her irritation at Shikamaru having seated himself between her and Naruto. With Team Seven fully settled, Kakashi opted to skip over idle small talk.
"How are all three of you holding up?" he asked directly. Chances were, given how long it had been since he'd spoken to any of the three, each of them had already overcome the worst of their experiences. It still felt proper to pose the question regardless, however. Though verbal responses took several moments, plenty could be inferred from their immediate facial expressions and body language. Naruto took on a look of unsteady conflict, and his eyes turned down to the carpet. He radiated internalized conflict. Shikamaru's face contorted into something resembling regret, but it vanished quickly. He was self-suppressing.
Satsuki's reaction was more subtle, as it occurred only in her eyes. A flash of raw, unadulterated frustration crossed over her irises, and for the briefest of moments, Kakashi could have sworn he felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. As with Shikamaru, her turmoil lasted mere seconds, and disappeared quickly.
"Doing fine, for the most part." Shikamaru said, breaking the silence. He then coughed into the bend of his elbow. It appeared that his sickness had not entirely left him, despite clear recovery. Naruto and Satsuki both nodded in agreement.
"Dreams can be a little rough, but other than that, I feel normal. It does suck that the ramen stand got blown up, though." the blonde said, sounding quite disappointed to have temporarily lost access to his favorite food. The Jonin nodded. Given who he was speaking to, the first two responses had been in-character.
"And you, Satsuki?" he pressed. The Uchiha flinched slightly upon being addressed, snapping from some sort of stupor.
"Same as him. Just some trouble sleeping." she said after a slight hesitation. Noting her lapse, Kakashi nodded.
"Sounds about right. Widespread chaos like that isn't exactly common, not even in our line of work. Not when we can help it, anyway. You're all doing fine enough, from what I can see." he said approvingly. He then adjusted his forehead protector to better cover his left eye.
"And I think you'll all be relieved to hear that we won't be diving into an all-out war with the Sand. Things have been kept at a low simmer for now. There's still work to be done, but things should be peaceful in the long run." he added. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the information.
"How'd we manage that? Not complaining, but invasion seems like a pretty surefire way to start a war." he asked. The Jonin considered his words for a moment. He knew far more than he likely should have, as Hiruzen had felt the need to be talkative over the past several days.
"Let's just say things weren't as they seemed. Suna isn't exactly at fault, as wild as that sounds." he said, choosing to keep his answer brief. Though a look of skepticism passed over each of the genin's faces, they kept their complaints to themselves.
"The worst part of it was that it caught me totally by surprise. I could barely think straight." Satsuki said candidly. The two boys next to her voiced their agreement in short order.
"Well, you made a sharp call in leading Gaara away from the village, so don't get too down on yourself. All of you did your jobs and did them well. It's normal to feel negatively about your performance when the stakes are so high, but don't let those feelings get to you. It's normal. We all go through it at some point or another." Kakashi assured the group, with a focus on the Uchiha specifically.
"What matters to me is that you're all in one piece. Quite a few others weren't so lucky. One of your classmates included." he continued. As he had expected, the cell's faces collectively fell at the mention of Kiba Inuzuka's demise.
"What I want you all to take away from this experience is that you're smart and skilled enough to handle yourselves when the chips are down. You didn't come out unscathed, but nobody ever does. Life is fragile, but you're all a little tougher than you used to be. Be proud of that, and move on." Kakashi said. It was far from a gentle message or lesson, but it was one they needed to learn sooner rather than later.
"Naruto and I would be dead if we hadn't gotten bailed out by a member of the Anbu. I get what you're saying, but I don't think that credit's deserved." Satsuki cut in, gripping the hem of her skirt. Naruto began to protest, but shut up quickly. He clearly agreed with her, whether he liked it or not. Kakashi shook his head.
"There's more to duty than winning fights. In a case like this one, what mattered more than either one of you beating Gaara was the safety of the village, and holding him off long enough for reinforcements to arrive and take over contributed to that cause. He was stronger than you ever could have been ready for, if that crater in the forest is any indication. I've said it already, but don't beat yourselves up." he insisted, doubling down on his own brand of optimism.
"I'll try." Satsuki said shortly, her tone effectively closing the door on the topic. Needing no further prompting, Kakashi took the cue.
"Well, on a more exciting note, I have your compensation on the kitchen counter." he said. Predictably, all three teens livened up at the news.
"We're talking money, right?" Naruto asked hopefully, to which Satsuki groaned and shot him a disapproving look.
"You don't say that outright, dumbass." she chided him tiredly. Kakashi cracked a smile beneath his mask. Some things would simply never change, it seemed.
"The manners still need work, but he's not wrong. There are three bags on the table. Your checks are inside, alongside a little gift from me." he explained. Taking initiative, Shikamaru rose up from his seat on the couch and made his way toward the kitchen. The moment he was off the couch, Satsuki began slowly scooting over to fill the vacancy. Naruto appeared to not notice, as he was staring off into open space while fidgeting with his hands. More humorous was the look of slight nervousness on the Uchiha's face.
'She's got social anxiety and he's got some kind of ADHD. Maybe I jumped the gun with Naruto's gift.' the Jonin thought to himself, stifling a low chuckle. Shikamaru then returned to the living room, prompting Satsuki to close the remaining gap all at once and plant herself shoulder to shoulder with the Jinchuuriki.
'Actually…never mind." Kakashi corrected. Shikamaru, who was holding three paper bags, stopped for a moment and studied the new seating arrangements. Choosing to say nothing, he sat back down next to the right of Satsuki. He then distributed the bags to the rest of his team.
"Your handwriting is terrible. Not sure how you even managed to make Satsuki's name look like mine." the Nara said, gesturing to the loosely scrawled name in permanent marker on his bag. Kakashi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"There's a reason I use a typewriter for field reports, kid. Why don't you all take turns opening them up?" he suggested, deflecting the valid criticism. Thankfully, the proposal stuck, and Shikamaru reached into his bag. First, he removed the envelope containing his check and slid it into his pocket. Then, he removed the second parcel.
"Melatonin? You know me way too well." he said, holding up a bottle of the sleeping aid. Though partially having been intended as a joke, it was certainly fitting.
"My turn, I guess." Satsuki said, opening up her bag and tucking her check away as Shikamaru had. She then produced a small ball, which she squeezed several times.
"What's this thing supposed to be?" she asked skeptically, squishing the malleable orb a few more times.
"It's a stress ball. Figured you could use one." the Jonin said with a shrug. Satsuki said no more, but continued to squeeze the ball, almost seeming hypnotized by it. Naruto snickered a bit as his teammate's attention continued to be transfixed by the ball.
"C'mon, Naruto. You're up." Kakashi encouraged his student, having a particular interest in the blonde's reaction to what lay within his bag. Naruto did as he was told and opened up his bag. As with his teammates, he pocketed his check. He then reached in deeper to retrieve the other item within. He stopped halfway. A beat later, his face flushed bright red.
"Really? You suck." he said, obviously embarrassed by what he had found. Kakashi gave him a knowing look.
"Who knows? Might come in handy." he replied casually. The Jinchuuriki grumbled something under his breath that Kakashi couldn't quite catch. Satsuki tilted her head off to one side.
"What'd he give you? One of his gross books?" she asked curiously, leaning across Naruto to peer into the bag. Before she could get a clear look, the blonde scrunched it closed and wedged it between to couch cushions on the opposite side. Satsuki frowned, a look of irritation spreading over her face.
"What's your problem?" she huffed, folding her arms across her chest. Perturbed as she seemed, she made no move to scoot away into the foot of extra space on her right away from him. Kakashi sat back and watched his team interact for the better part of a minute. Naruto attempted to steal Satsuki's stress ball several times, resulting in several shoves from the Uchiha. Shikamaru, as he was wont to do, simply sat still with a vacant look on his face as his teammates lightly tussled. Despite his blankness, a slight trace of a smile could be seen tugging at the corners of his mouth.
'I shouldn't think this, but I really wish you'd all stay genin longer than you're bound to.' Kakashi thought to himself as he watched Team Seven be themselves. They deserved their own careers, and much more, but the Jonin had found more meaning in his life over the past several months than he had in the prior half-decade. He had often scoffed at the idea of leading a cell of his own, and had intentionally made his criteria for acceptance nearly unfair to avoid it, but now, he had come to understand the value in the coming generation.
'Maybe I should've been a little less harsh on the other kids I sent back to the academy.' he pondered. Brief consideration of the sentiment brought him to the conclusion that he had been right to be picky. It had taken a specific group to meet his standards, and any other set of hopefuls would have been a royal waste of time. Satisfied with this conclusion, he looked up at the clock. He then cleared his throat to catch his team's attention.
"Not to cut this short, but I've got some meds to take in around five minutes. I'll be kicking you out now." he announced. Naruto, having finally managed to acquire the stress ball, jumped up to his feet.
"Thanks for having us, Sensei." he said before jogging away and out the door. Satsuki immediately rushed after him, determined to reclaim her ball. Just before she could fully exit the house, she looked back over her shoulder.
"Thanks for the gift." she said quickly, turning around and closing the door behind her. The rapid exit of the pair left Kakashi alone with Shikamaru, who glanced down and pulled Naruto's bag up from between the cushions. He had left it behind in his haste. The Nara then opened it up and looked inside. A short laugh came soon after.
"You had him fighting for his life with her sitting next to him. You're a mean bastard." he said as he calmed down, shaking his head all the while. Kakashi held up both hands defensively.
"I think it's a practical thing to give him. He'll need 'em sooner or later. Probably sooner." he countered, though he hardly felt pressed. Shikamaru closed the bag again.
"Are you sure you should be encouraging them? The entire point of this cell was for that kinda thing not to happen from what I've pieced together." he pointed out. The Jonin's brow drew upward. On occasion, he forgot how perceptive the unambitious boy could be.
"That was Hokage-sama's idea, not mine. I wanted Naruto because I didn't trust anybody else to handle him. Besides, at this point, there's no use in lecturing them. They practically live together." he explained. Shikamaru frowned.
"Wait, really?" he asked, clearly quite surprised by what he was being told. Kakashi nodded and shifted in his chair to make himself more comfortable.
"Naruto's been spending nights in the Uchiha sector for almost two weeks now. I'm pretty sure they're keeping things relatively clean given how Naruto reacted to what's in that bag, but I have no confidence in a pair of teenagers keeping in check for long." he said. The Nara's expression remained skeptical.
"You've been down and out for most of that time. How do you know all of that?" he asked. Kakashi scratched his cheek absently.
"There was an incident last month. One that put Satsuki in the hospital. It involved Naruto. I decided to keep an eye on both of them around the clock after that. I still do, just not directly." he revealed. Shikamaru took a moment to consider what he had been told.
"Have you been watching me, then?" he inquired, his tone taking on a new, more ambiguous emotion. Kakashi made a 'so-so' motion with his hand.
"A little, you're my student, but not much. Nothing against you. Quite the opposite, really. You tend to stay out of trouble." the Jonin replied. A strange tension appeared to leave Shikamaru.
"Yeah, I'm pretty boring." he said. He then stepped back and around the couch. He was moving to leave. Erring on the side of a peaceful conclusion, Kakashi ignored his odd reaction and changed the subject.
"Drop that bag off at Naruto's door. I'd still prefer if he had those." he requested. The shadow user gave a thumbs-up and headed for the door. When he opened it, the Jonin addressed him one last time.
"Shikamaru." he called out. The younger Ninja turned back around and waited expectantly.
"You're a good kid." Kakashi said directly. The Nara pursed his lips silently, but did not allow any single feeling to show clearly.
"Thank you." he said in response, pivoting back toward the afternoon son. Seconds later, he was out the door and long gone. Alone once more, Kakashi stood up stiffly with a sweeping look around the room.
'I really do need better furniture.'
Satsuki swatted a bug out of the air as she trudged through the darkening streets of Konoha. Night was fast approaching, and asphalt roads were clearing out rather quickly. The Uchiha enjoyed peace and quiet for the most part, but at present, she was painfully bored. She had been without anything to do for the better part of three hours, and the mundanity of it all was finally starting to get to her. Sleeping early was an option, but she was not tired, and far too stubborn to turn in for the night.
Tossing her stress ball up into the air and catching it again several times, the Uchiha girl rounded a corner. As odd and miscellaneous as the gift had seemed at face value, Satsuki now found herself enamored with it. Fidgeting with it was oddly calming, and it made for an effective distraction in short spurts.
'What am I, a dog?' she thought to herself. The brief lapse distracted her for just long enough to cause her to miss catching the ball as it fell back down from being tossed. It bounced off the ground several times and rolled away, somehow managing to find its way around another corner. Jogging after it, Satsuki hastily made her way around the bend in pursuit. When she stumbled onto the new street, she was met with a surprising sight. Standing beside a bench, wearing a white sundress with her stress ball in hand was Haku Yuki.
For a time, the girls simply stared at one another. Having never met outside of an incredibly hostile setting, either as allies or enemies, the current circumstances were quite foreign.
"Is this yours?" the huntress eventually asked, holding up the stress ball. Satsuki nodded and cautiously walked closer to retrieve it. When she did so, Haku chuckled a bit.
"I don't bite. Promise." she joked. The raven-haired girl stepped back again, studying her now-comrade intently. She stood a fair few inches taller than Haku, and from what she could see of the girl's arms, she was likely a bit more muscular as well. Despite what outwardly seemed to be a physical disparity in her own favor, she knew all too well that Haku was far stronger than she was.
"It just feels a little weird to be talking to a person who…" Satsuki started, trailing off near the end.
"Killed you?" Haku offered, a pleasant smile on her face that was incompatible with her words. The Uchiha's left eye twitched slightly. She had long since overcome the trauma of her near-death experience, but it still made her uneasy to hear it so concisely spelled out.
"Yeah, that." she confirmed blankly. Haku nodded and sat down on the bench, brushing her hair back behind her ears.
"Understandable. It did feel quite strange fighting alongside you and Naruto. Though, not really in a bad way." she said thoughtfully. She then tapped the space next to her. Mildly uncomfortable as she was, Satsuki accepted the silent invitation and sat down next to the huntress.
"That whole situation was terrible. Every second of it sucked." she said, scowling at the unpleasant memories. Haku held out her left hand and allowed a firefly to land on one of her fingers.
"I was only there for the end, so I can't say I understand what you went through, but I almost had my arm amputated because of that freak. 'Terrible' is a good way to put it." she agreed. Satsuki draped one of her arms over the back of the bench.
"I fought him alone for a while. I did what I could, and I damn near burned the forest down, but he walked right through all of it. Naruto showed up at the last minute and saved me." she explained, doing her best not to sound as bitter as she was.
"I've seen more combat than you probably ever will. I've gotten quite good at gauging the strength of my enemies. It helps that I'm a sensor type, too." the Anbu started, pausing briefly when the firefly flew away.
"There are only three people I've ever encountered who I can confidently say are stronger than Gaara was. Two of which being your teacher and mine. He was too much even for me. Losing to him is nothing to be ashamed of." she said. Satsuki leaned her cheek on the heel of her palm.
"What bothers me more is that I couldn't do anything else after he beat me. Naruto lost to him about as badly as I did, but he got up and kept going. I didn't. I had to stay down." she said. Haku eyed her from her periphery.
"You do know he's…different, right?" she asked. Satsuki bristled instantly, sending a sideways glare her way.
"Yeah, I do. What about it?" she challenged. The huntress' reaction was unexpected, as instead of firing back or growing defensive, she covered her mouth and giggled.
"So protective. I didn't mean any insult by it. Fact is, his ability to recover isn't something you could ever measure up to. Same goes for me. It isn't a comparison worth making." she clarified. Calming somewhat, the Uchiha looked to the ground again.
"I just don't like being helpless." she said. Haku coaxed a second firefly into taking refuge upon her, this time in the palm of her hand.
"Fair enough, but I think you might just hate losing. Or anything like it." she said. Satsuki considered arguing with the assessment, but did not do so. Truth be told, it was quite on the nose.
"I'm really competitive. Even when I shouldn't be." she admitted. Haku frowned disappointedly as the second firefly left her just like the first.
"And I can't feel things the way I know I should. We all have our problems. What matters is how we deal with them." she said, looking at the genin directly. Satsuki met her eyes.
"Why are you giving me advice?" she asked. The conversation had moved very quickly given the context and subject matter.
"No reason in particular. It just felt appropriate." the Anbu girl said. They then lapsed into unmoving silence as the sun fully set. Several minutes after darkness had fully covered the village, Satsuki spoke.
"How's Shikamaru doing?" she asked. Unlike her previous composed, nearly effortless responses, the huntress hesitated initially at the question.
"Still a bit sick, but much better than he was. That boy is a nightmare to play nurse for. Especially when you're sick right along with him." she said. Satsuki allowed something resembling a smile.
"Take good care of him. He needs it. More than he'll ever realize." she said. Haku raised an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised you're even remotely okay with our involvement." she said honestly. Satsuki rubbed one of her eyes as she slowly grew more tired.
"I've never found the energy to care a ton about what happened. I don't like that he saved you, it made it tough to put faith in him for a while, but he earned that back. You're not really any worse than any other Ninja. You were just a person doing their job." she said. The Uchiha then stood up and stretched her stiff back.
"I still don't like you, but I don't see the point in holding a grudge." she added, sitting back down again as she spoke. Seeming to take the sentiment without offense, Haku nodded.
"May I ask what you were doing out walking?" she asked politely. Simple as the question was, and as obvious as the answer was, Satsuki took her time in answering it.
"I don't have anything to do." she said. It was partially true, but the reasoning for her lack of entertaining options was something she had no plans to voice. Unfortunately, Haku did it for her.
"Let me guess, Naruto is busy, and you don't know what to do with yourself all of a sudden?" she said. Satsuki tightened up momentarily at the painful accuracy of her words, but relaxed gradually.
"It never used to be a problem for me. I spent years doing my own thing. Now I…don't really want to do my own thing." she said frankly. It was a realization she had been grappling with for the majority of the day.
"We never tend to realize how lonely we are until we experience something warm. You start to crave it, and when you don't get it, you feel the withdrawal." Haku said, clearly articulating the exact feelings Satsuki had been experiencing.
"It makes me feel weird. I don't like needing another person to feel good." she said. The huntress looked up toward the rising moon.
"It's not a healthy way to be. As of now, I'm solving my own problems. More or less the same as yours. I've found that taking a step back and spending some time with yourself helps. Though, in your case…" she said, pausing as she turned to face Satsuki.
"...I think it's safe to say that solitude is the last thing you want." she concluded. The Uchiha girl looked at the asphalt ground.
"Yeah, it is." she said quietly. Haku sighed and stood up, brushing bits of dust from her sundress.
"Well, I'll leave you to do your own thinking. Whatever it is you decide to do, commit to it." she advised. Satsuki didn't bother to watch her walk away, instead listening to the slowly fading echo of her footsteps as she disappeared into the night. The genin was motionless for a further few minutes before rising. Looking off toward the Uchiha sector, she took a preliminary step.
She slept alone that night, and she hated every second of it.
A/N: Alright, so once again I AM SO SORRY for the delay. I got caught up in a bunch of stuff IRL, and I just didn't have the time to update.
I am still here, though. I will still be aiming for twice per week. Confident I can do so
I know this chapter was a little weird and eclectic, but I wanted to establish some smaller character stuff to build on in the (short) remaining future of this fic.
Aaaand you're free to take a wild guess as to what Kakashi gave Naruto in a review lmao
On that topic, please do leave a review. Nothing motivates me to keep a schedule more :)
Read and Review!
