Hidden Depths

Trust Arc

Part 2

He jolted into consciousness and quickly took stock of his surroundings, focusing in on what had set off his alarms. There was nobody in his immediate vicinity or he would've already been at their throats, but a presence had entered the building he was in. Most likely the next room over. Tension slowly slipped from his mind and body as he recognized the smells in the room, despite the unknown person nearby. No doubt the familiar mix of the tang of metal, sweat, sweat, blood, and Gai's own unique scent, was what had let him sleep through the night as well.

He dimly recognized that It had taken a moment longer than usual for the scent to reach him. His arm shook as he brought a hand to his face, finding both his hitai-ate and his mask still on, telling him a bit more about his situation. Smell was too important a sense to dull while he was injured enough to fully pass out. He happily took advantage of the fact that many overlooked it - even a small change in scents would wake him from the deepest sleep. The fact that he'd left his mask on, muting his acute sense of smell, meant that he was somewhere, or with someone, that he trusted. Something that had happened more than once when he came here.

At ease again with the familiar situation, he relaxed back into the mattress, and let his mind wander as it stirred sluggishly. As was usual when he was staying at Gai's, his host had left for his morning workout long before he was ready to get up. It wasn't that he was lazy, or even that Gai got up at ungodly hours to start training - but more the fact that, by the very nature of his stays, he was always recovering from something. He vaguely recalled reacting to the change several hours ago, as sensitive to presences leaving the vicinity as he was to them entering it, but as it always did, the familiarity of the smells and the situation had lulled his less rested mind back to sleep. Just another part of the routine.

The unknown variable, he mused, was whether Gai would shower before deciding that his poor injured guest was deprived of his morning greeting. He'd long ago decided to be more relieved than disturbed by the fact that at least Gai could tell when he was sleeping. If he fell back asleep again - which had happened - then the bastard would leave off with making his morning as loud as possible.

This might be one of those mornings, he thought wearily. His mind wasn't clearing up and the adrenaline that had accompanied his rise to consciousness had faded, leaving his limbs feeling like lead. What exactly had he done this time? He teetered back and forth wondering if maybe it should have landed him on the hospital, but then decided the fact that he'd woken up at all proved that it wasn't that extreme.

Not remembering exactly how he'd ended up at Gai's was as much part of the routine as hoping Gai showered before he saw him. But something else was trying to get his attention beneath the familiar safety. There was something... just a bit off, that he couldn't quite put a finger on. It felt somewhat like he'd been on the battlefield before waking up here, with no way to account for the weeks it should have taken to get back to Konoha.

He remembered waking up on the roofs of Konoha, but the memory was distorted by his absolute surety that he couldn't be in his village. He frowned as he recalled the equally strong instinct that he couldn't be caught. His thoughts had been scattered and incoherent, leaving most of his memories fragmented, but this stood out clearly against the chaos. If he could just put put all the pieces back together maybe he could figure out his reasoning.

On the other hand, he thought dryly, as the 'Springtime of Youth' invaded the room, perhaps that wouldn't be necessary after all. Indeed, everything was quite clear. If he wasn't insane, anyway, which he wasn't completely dismissing as a possibility.

"I am most pleased to see you awake on this most youthful of mornings, my rival!" Gai declared as he barged in dramatically. Kakashi hadn't batted an eye since the first day he'd encountered Gai's... exuberance... but faced with a Gai that looked far more like that first day they met than the booming, muscle bound nin that he remembered seeing last, he was sorely pressed to remain calm. Looking him over idly, as his brain struggled to switch gears, he was more disturbed than ever by the resemblance between him and his pebble - eh, student.

"Yo," he greeted with a raised hand. The relief that his own voice was it's usual timbre was stronger than was called for, but a stray thought had half convinced him that he was as young as Gai - that the last twenty or so years had been nothing more than an elaborate dream or genjutsu. Or insanity. Had to keep that in mind. He couldn't really blame people for hiding out in their own minds if that was what insanity was like. It had certainly felt more real than the surreal situation he found himself in; Gai wasn't helping with that.

On the other hand, reality, if that's what this was, seemed to be far more interesting.

Note: This is not edited. Let me know if I make any mistakes.

Also, when Kakashi refers to the first day he and Gai meet, he's not referring to when they met in the Academy. He's totally forgotten about that.
About the pebble. I was reading a parody that referred to Rock Lee as Pebble, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I can't recall the name of it atm but I'll get it up here when I find it.