Title: Six End

Author: Sekiseishi

Rating: T

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi x Umino Iruka

Theme: End

c. Masashi Kishimoto

Warnings: Character death.

A/N: Thanks to naltariel for the review! And, of course and always, to EoS! This one's for you two.

The sun set, a beautiful pink and violet sky left in it's wake as it descended to the horizon. The clouds thinned as darkness approached, almost as though they were afraid of getting caught between the stars and the mimicking ocean. The sand beneath his feet was white and pure, salty water lapping gently, trying to drag the precious rarity back into its killing depths in order to preserve it.

He couldn't blame it, someone like him, tainted, worn, and bloody treading on the innocence that the vast body of water claimed as its own. After all, he'd had something similar not too long ago.

"Yeah, Anko found him, lying there in the middle of the forest," he could still hear the voices and the cold water playing at his feet did nothing to ban them from his mind. "Blood everywhere. Stabbed through the neck, didn't have a chance. Died instantly. Her best friend. God."

It was an inevitability. Death was the basis for shinobi life. It was his duty, and he carried it out to the bitter end.

Just keep telling yourself that, Hatake. He knew it was no use. It didn't ease the terrible pressure in his chest any, his eyes remained hot and stinging, his head throbbed, and his throat was still tight and sore. It was like being sick, only worse.

Warm arms wrapped suddenly around his waist and he melted into the smaller body behind him, wearier than he'd ever been.

"I'm tired," he said, but the person behind him didn't reply, instead the arms tightened and Kakashi sat in the cool sand, the other following his movements.

He leaned back and rested his head on a small shoulder, reaching up to pull off his mask and hitai-ate. The metal of his forehead protector hissed as it fell into the white sand, the hand that had taken it off moving further up to trail pale fingers down a bronze cheek.

"Sleep, Kakashi. I'm right here," the arms around his waist moved up a little and the bronze-skinned man offered a hug.

"He wasn't as foolish as he let on, you know," the Sharingan-user mumbled, lowering his hand to rest atop those on his stomach. "He was a brilliant shinobi. A wonderful teacher, and a kind man. He was the best friend I'd ever had, and now he's dead. Just like everyone else."

Iruka smiled down at his lover: "Gai was a wonderful man, I know that. He's an even greater shinobi for protecting what he cared about most. Give him that much credit."

"It still hurts."

The academy teacher looked over at the sun, now only a sliver of light left over the ocean, shimmering gold like a greed-induced mirage.

"That's right. It does," he said. "But, when it gets to be too much, remember that I'm right here. I won't leave you."

A/N: Another sappy one. And, yeah, I killed Gai. It made me sad. This had a somewhat implied Gai x Anko. If you know me, you would've caught the undertone. I really love Gai, I really do. Don't hate me for this. I'm sad too! Killing Iruka or Kakashi is too cliche for me, and I couldn't do that willingly to either of them, so I made it Gai.

Actually, thinking about it, I should have made it Anko, since I don't like her all that much. Anyway ...

And, no, this isn't the end of the drabbles, so don't get all sad if you really like them that much. I'll keep writing them as long as I have words I can effectively use. The original word for this was toilet, and I can't say I was too keen on the idea, so I skipped it. Much love to you all!

EoS: You know, I think you were right when you told me about reviews being able to push me forward. They're like little motivational speakers in my computer! Love!